Opportunity for Song Lam Nghe An to break away

It seemed that Nghe An players would be slow to restart after the V.League 2022 resumed, but coach Huy Hoang and his students had 2 consecutive wins at Vinh Stadium and kept a clean sheet. It has been a long time since Song Lam Nghe An topped the V.League rankings with impressive statistics, the team with the most wins (4), the team with the fewest goals conceded (3 goals).

Opponents for the next 3 rounds

Song Lam Nghe An's schedule for the next 3 rounds is to meet SHB.Da Nang (away), Hai Phong (home), and Hanoi FC (away). According to the assessment, the difficulty of the game is gradually increasing and the match with Hanoi FC is considered a big challenge for coach Huy Hoang and his team. If they can overcome Van Quyet's team, even just get a point, the chance to continue to be in the top 3 of the first leg of V.League 2022 will be bright.

Young midfielder Xuan Tien is playing more and more maturely alongside Xuan Manh. Photo: HT

That said, it doesn't mean thatLam River Nghe Aneasily won against SHB.Da Nang and Hai Phong, but the opponents of the Nghe An team are lacking the necessary stability and depth of the squad. After 2 losses, Hai Phong shows that the defense of the port city team is still not really secure. Meanwhile, the team on the banks of the Han River of coach Phan Thanh Hung still has to struggle a lot when adjusting the defense.

This allows Song Lam Nghe An to think about getting points in 2 away matches and 1 home match in the next rounds.

Professional corner

Not only 2 consecutive wins butCoach Huy Hoang“turning danger into opportunity” when foreign player Ojong Mark was absent, he boldly pushed Xuan Manh to play as a central midfielder and initially succeeded. In fact, in the 4-4-2 formation, his predecessors had tried this national player in this position but could not fully develop his abilities and strengths.

Song Lam Nghe An's squad is actually arranged in a 3-1-4-2 formation, in which Xuan Manh, Xuan Tien, and Van Duc are arranged to play in the midfield area. This is the key to the tactical "innovation" of coach Huy Hoang, when Van Duc moves inside so that Sy Hoang can climb the left wing. With 1 assist and 1 goal, Sy Hoang has shown progress when trusted by the coaching staff and teammates. Meanwhile, Dinh Hoang (Van Cuong) has shown good ability to attack the wing, supporting the resilient defense.

Dinh Hoang received a red card in a counter-attack situation. Photo: SL

Coach Huy Hoang is getting Xuan Tien used to the role of "supporter" for Xuan Manh. When his senior moves up, this young player has the task of covering and counter-attacking, and he is doing this task quite well. If he can overcome his physical weakness, his chances of starting will be much higher.

Oseni and Olaha have scored in the last two matches when the opponents had to disperse their forces to deal with Song Lam Nghe An's attacks. That is a good sign that the Nghe An team needs to promote in the upcoming matches.

Song Lam Nghe An's weakness lies in their 3-man defense, Van Khanh and Ba Sang have repeatedly run out of steam against counter-attacks that have gone straight into the middle. The positioning of Song Lam Nghe An's defenders is problematic and when they let their opponents escape, they are forced to commit fouls and accept yellow cards. When the front line cannot defend against counter-attacks, it seems that goalkeeper Van Hoang's goal is immediately shaken.

There were many times when coach Huy Hoang asked foreign players Oseni and Olaha to participate in defense from a distance, but this was only a temporary solution. Abandoning the compact play after scoring a goal made Song Lam Nghe An's defense more difficult, but it was clear that the Nghe team still needed to focus on high-speed defensive tactics. Hai Phong and Hanoi have foreign players who are good at pressing and playing with full strength.

Two consecutive victories have made Song Lam Nghe An fly high on the rankings. But more importantly, Song Lam Nghe An needs to try to get 7 points in the next 3 rounds to firmly secure the top position in this important period.