Playing with one less player, Song Lam Nghe An lost at Hang Day Stadium.

Despite losing the match, Nghe An players showed great courage when playing away at Hang Day Stadium. Photo: Chung Nguyen

The match between Hanoi FC and Song Lam Nghe An is considered the highlight match of round 10 of V.League 2022, because in addition to competing for the top position on the V.League rankings, this is also a match representing the two football schools with the clearest identities in Vietnam.

Vietnamese football fans have noticed that the capital team has always shown a style of play that is full of elegance and sophistication, while the Nghe An team led by coach Nguyen Huy Hoang from the land of Lao wind always enters the field with passion and enthusiasm.

Although they had to play away, it is not an exaggeration to say that the number of Song Lam Nghe An fans overwhelmed the home team. That was a great spiritual support for coach Huy Hoang's students to turn Hang Day into their "holy land".

SLNA's celebration after Olaha opened the score. Photo: Chung Nguyen

The biggest disadvantage that Song Lam Nghe An faced in this match was the unfortunate absence of central defender Hoang Van Khanh. The former captain of Nghe An suffered an injury during the training session before this match. His replacement was veteran central defender The Nhat.

On the other side of the battle line, Hanoi is considered to be slightly better, as their forces are almost playing for the national team levels. Van Quyet continues to be the leader in the attacks of the home team at Hang Day Stadium. With the best players in hand, Hanoi still shows the traditional style of play that focuses on ball control, with small, smooth passes. That style of play could not be effective in the first half when Xuan Manh and his teammates broke all the intentions that the home coach conveyed to his students.

Song Lam Nghe An, with the guidance of coach Huy Hoang, showed an effective and diverse way of playing, approaching the opponent's goal and being strong in defensive situations. However, referee Nguyen Manh Hai's heavy-handed decisions pushed Song Lam Nghe An to suffer a regrettable defeat.

Although they could not score points against Hanoi, coach Huy Hoang's team can still hold their heads high when leaving Hang Day Stadium, because in this match, Song Lam Nghe An played with all the strength and indomitable will of the Nghe people.

Back to the opening minutes of the match, the fiery cheers from Nghe An fans throughout the stands seemed to add excitement to Song Lam Nghe An's attacks. With the flexibility between the trio of Van Duc, Olaha and Oseni, they repeatedly made the home team's defense unstable.

The aggressive play of coach Huy Hoang's students seemed to have made Van Hau, Thanh Chung, Duy Manh confused. And more than 3,000 Nghe An fans were able to enjoy the joy when the match had only lasted less than 5 minutes. From Phan Van Duc's corner kick, Olaha jumped high and headed the ball into the far corner of the goal, leaving Tan Truong helpless. The score was opened for Song Lam Nghe An.

Van Duc played very hard in this match. Photo: Hai Hoang

After taking the lead, coach Huy Hoang instructed his players to play a defensive counter-attacking strategy. This was also an opportunity for players like Van Quyet, Hung Dung, or Tuan Hai to show off their individual skills. However, the strength of the "anchor" midfielder Xuan Manh and the cunning of Que Ngoc Hai did not give the home team players a chance to make things difficult for Van Hoang.

Unable to attack in a slap-in-the-face style, coach Chun Jae Ho's team switched to attacking the flanks. And in the home team's attack from the right wing, Le Xuan Tu created a dangerous situation in front of Van Hoang's goal. However, this striker's kick was still not difficult enough to defeat Nghe An's number 1 goalkeeper.

Interspersed between the home team's attacks were clear-cut attacks from coach Huy Hoang's players. The understanding between Van Duc and Olaha created extremely effective overlapping passes. The clearest evidence was in the situation that occurred in the 30th minute, from a pass from number 20 Song Lam Nghe An, Olaha brought the ball down the sideline, but this player's crosses could not get past Duy Manh.

In the final minutes of the first half, Hanoi pressed forward to attack, at a fairly high speed. However, the alertness and fierce pressure from Nghe An's defense made Hanoi's strikers unable to keep calm. The most obvious manifestation was Hung Dung's angry moment with Xuan Manh in the 40th minute.

In the second half, the referee made a rather harsh decision for Song Lam Nghe An. The situation came from the 50th minute, when in a dispute with the opponent, the elbow of the number 10 striker from Nghe An accidentally hit the face of the Hanoi defender. The referee immediately showed a red card and expelled Olaha.

Immediately after that, the referee continued to blow the penalty, because he thought that Ba Sang used his hand to play the ball in the penalty area. Vladimir took the penalty kick and it hit Van Hoang's net, bringing the match back to the starting line.

It seemed that Song Lam Nghe An could not hold the ball to attack, but from the 55th to the 60th minute, coach Huy Hoang's team created many scoring opportunities in front of Tan Truong's goal. The most regrettable opportunity was Xuan Manh's missed chance. This player headed the ball past the opponent's goalkeeper, but the home team's defender cleared the ball on the goal line.

Xuan Manh regrets missing the chance to score after SLNA had a player sent off. Photo: Hai Hoang

Playing with one less player, Song Lam Nghe An could not withstand the home team's relentless attacks. And the Nghe team had to concede a goal in the 76th minute of the match. The goal belonged to center back Thanh Chung.

In the final minutes, although Song Lam Nghe An played with great effort, they could not score a goal against Tan Truong. And had to accept defeat against the top team.

In round 11, the Nghe An team will return home to welcome Dong A Thanh Hoa./.