V.League 2018: Reasons why SLNA is likely to be eliminated from the Top 3

The duo Phan Van Duc - Pham Xuan Manh are absent.

After returning from the 2018 Asian Games in the Vietnam Olympic team, Xuan Manh suffered a fractured fibula and had to rest for a month, and Van Duc suffered a torn muscle and had to rest for a relatively long time. The absence of these two players will certainly cause a lot of turmoil in the SLNA squad after the 8-match unbeaten streak was stopped.

If given time to recover to get the best form, Phan Van Duc's ability to break through and smell the goal is a factor that helps SLNA have many options to solve the match. Meanwhile, Pham Xuan Manh, in addition to his good aerial ability, also possesses good physical strength until the last minute. After 21 matches in V.League, SLNA only had 2 goals in the 75-90 minutes, which is really unacceptable.

SLNA's pillars are being overloaded. Photo courtesy

The problem of Que Ngoc Hai - Hoang Van Khanh

SLNA has a lot of talented young central defenders, but Hoang Van Khanh is showing signs of slowing down and gradually declining. When playing with Que Ngoc Hai, Van Khanh often makes mistakes and the SLNA captain cannot constantly correct his teammate's mistakes.

According to former SLNA midfielder Le Quoc Vuong: “SLNA is lacking a spiritual leader, not to play with iron and nails but to be a support for his teammates”. Que Ngoc Hai is still quite young and has only played at an average level. Meanwhile, Pham Manh Hung has been the biggest disappointment of the Nghe An team in recent seasons.

Defender Hoang Van Khanh is still not cunning enough. Photo: Thang Nguyen

Goalkeeper

In the match between Hanoi and SLNA, goalkeeper Phan Dinh Vu Hai played brilliantly, saving a penalty and many other excellent plays. However, the weakness of this goalkeeper is the ability to choose the position and enter and exit inappropriately in many situations. When the defenders do not play and cover each other well, the pressure will become greater for the goalkeeper and the guard will also have difficulty completing the task. Unfortunately, goalkeeper Le Quang Dai did not get to try his hand at any minute in V.League 2018.

Direct competitors

When SLNA's 8-match winning streak was stopped, the direct competitors for the Top 3 position such as FLC Thanh Hoa or Than Quang Ninh were playing quite stably. FLC Thanh Hoa just had a 3-0 victory right on HAGL's field. Meanwhile, the mining team also almost made Hai Phong suffer a bitter defeat at Cam Pha in the last round.

Currently, SLNA has 32 points, 1 point less than the 3rd ranked Thanh Hoa and 2 points more than Than Quang Ninh. In the remaining 5 matches, SLNA will play 3 home matches and 2 away matches (Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa) but the rather inconvenient travel schedule will cause the Nghe An team to lose a lot of energy and preparation time.

Foreign player Jeremie Lynch has not been tested much in big matches like when he met Hanoi. Photo: Hoai Hoan

Trust from the audience

The loss to Hanoi did not make Nghe An fans sad, but the humiliating 0-4 loss at Vinh Stadium in the second leg of the National Cup semi-final has caused Vinh Stadium to receive a big shock. Two consecutive losses will somewhat reduce the excitement of the audience. While mental strength is the main secret to help coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team play well, it is likely that in the remaining matches at Vinh Stadium, SLNA will have difficulty receiving enthusiastic support from Nghe An fans because of their inconsistent performance.

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