U19 SLNA won the opening match of the National U19 tournament

U19 SLNA's celebration in the opening match of the national U19 tournament. Photo: Chung Nguyen

U19SLNAqualify for the finalsNational U192022 as the top team in Group B in the qualifying round. Present in the final round this year, the Nghe An team is in Group B including the U19 Dong Thap, U19 Hanoi and U19 Binh Dinh teams. This is a fairly easy group for coach Dinh Van Dung's team. Therefore, meeting Dong Thap in this match will be a great opportunity for SLNA to get 3 points and nurture the ambition of winning the Gold Cup in this year's tournament.

Coming to the final round, the U19 team from Nghe An has many talented players such as Trinh Hoang Canh, Phan Xuan Dai, Nguyen Van Bach, Ho Van Cuong... Coach Dinh Van Dung's team is only missing the Nghe football prodigy Dinh Xuan Tien. Because this player is currently training with the national U23 team.

Considered the favorite team, after the opening whistle was blown, U19 SLNA quickly took control of the game. Ho Van Cuong and Phan Duy Hao continuously created trouble for the opponent's goal. And after less than 1/3 of the first half, Phan Duy Hao opened the score for SLNA. From a fixed free kick, Ho Van Cuong hit the crossbar of U19 Dong Thap. The striker wearing the number 27 shirt was there in time to tap the ball into the net to score for the Nghe An club.

Ho Van Cuong was an active player in this match. Photo: Chung Nguyen

After conceding the first goal, U19 Dong Thap tried to push up the formation with the hope of finding an equalizer. However, the U19 SLNA defense, led by Trinh Hoang Canh, played with alertness and determination. This did not give the strikers from the Mekong Delta much room to create opportunities and change the scoreboard.

After taking the lead, U19 SLNA also proactively gave up the field to the opponent and chose a defensive counter-attacking style of play. This is a way of playing that "counter-attacks" and waits for U19 Dong Thap's mistakes to double the gap. With that style of play, the strikers of Nghe An Club have caused trouble for the goal of the Club from the Mekong Delta many times.

The first half ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of U19 SLNA, a result that accurately reflected the situation of the match. Overall, in this half, coach Dinh Van Dung's team showed a rather flexible playing style. The approaches to the opponent's goal were very diverse. Typically, the flank attacks then passed back to the second line. Or the passing in the middle to disrupt the defense of U19 Dong Thap, then sent through balls to tear apart the defense of U19 Dong Thap.

Entering the second half, U19 SLNA was still the team dominating the game. Right in the 55th minute, if Phan Duy Hao had been more alert, he could have scored a double for himself in this match. That was a situation where he climbed the right wing of Nghe An Club, the ball was sent down the touchline and then passed back inside to the striker wearing shirt number 27. However, when facing the opponent's goalkeeper, this striker kicked the ball too hard and hit the goal post of Dong Thap.

After that, Coach Dinh Van Dung's students created consecutive opportunities, but due to a lack of luck, U19 SLNA still could not increase the score of the match. With a flexible and fast playing style, Nghe An Club made Dong Thap's defense have to work hard to defend. Many times the team from the Mekong Delta had to be confused by the U19 SLNA's attacks from the wings.

However, the score of the match remained the same. With a minimal 1-0 victory over U19 Dong Thap, U19 SLNA got 3 points and temporarily ranked 2nd in group B.

The next match U19 SLNA will meet U19 Hanoi on March 26 at PVF Hung Yen stadium.