V-League 2023 round 4: Song Lam Nghe An and a trip to a less cool coastal city

But it is worth mentioning that in round 3, at home, Song Lam Nghe An only got 1 point against Hai Phong, but away, Khanh Hoa won convincingly against Ho Chi Minh City with a score of 2-0, officially escaping the "death door" and giving up the unwanted bottom position to the opposing team Ho Chi Minh City.

SLNA meets Dong A Thanh Hoa. Photo archive

To see, in the upcoming round 4, the trip to the coastal city of Song Lam Nghe An will not be… cool at all, if not extremely hot and uncomfortable against the home team who is on a high after a victory that dispelled all previous doubts.

The "transformation" of Khanh Hoa, the team that has just returned to V-League, the team with the highest average age of players in the tournament (over 28 years old) after 3 rounds, is currently believed to originate from the coaching talent of Mr. Vo Dinh Tan, a person with a lot of experience in the game, understanding his students and the luck when they first owned Vietnamese-American striker Ryan Ha. After 3 starting matches, Ryan Ha himself, as a winger, contributed an assist in the 1-2 home loss to Thanh Hoa in round 1, scored the opening goal in the away match in round 3, opening up the opportunity for the home team to have a valuable win of the season for the first time. It is very possible that, after the resounding success of Vietnamese-American goalkeeper Van Lam in Hai Phong, in the Vietnam national team and now Binh Dinh, Ryan Ha will be the next Vietnamese-American player who will not only help the coastal city team stay in the league successfully and more, but also bring the career of this seemingly unknown player to a new level?

Meanwhile, after 3 rounds of draws, Song Lam Nghe An slowly and laboriously entered the tournament with an image far inferior to its traditional image. There are still top stars such as Ngoc Hai, Trong Hoang, Xuan Manh..., and here are the young stars Xuan Tien, Nam Hai... but the team has not shown a strong will to fight, determined to win, no one has proven their inherent talent. Meanwhile, 3 matches have passed but Song Lam Nghe An has only scored 2 goals, and conceded 2 goals (Khanh Hoa was identified early, conceding 5 goals after the first 2 matches, but has now scored 3 goals). Currently, Khanh Hoa also has 3 points, of course temporarily ranked behind Song Lam Nghe An due to a lower goal difference, but from now on, the home field advantage and psychological advantage are both leaning towards the coastal city team as everyone knows. It is not a little "cool" for the away team for that reason.

No one initially set a goal of being out of the top 8, Song Lam Nghe An as well as Khanh Hoa, even though Khanh Hoa with its current strength, the goal of staying in the league would be more within reach. But saying and doing are two different things. Who knows, maybe Song Lam Nghe An will have to worry about staying in the league because they were kicked out of the top 8 after the first round, while Khanh Hoa will be in the top 8 more than expected? With what has been seen through the 3 rounds, Song Lam Nghe An's belief in the top 8 is starting to waver, while Khanh Hoa's is starting to be rekindled. Khanh Hoa once "overcame" the struggling team Ho Chi Minh City, who knows, in round 4, they will once again cross a red line of hope, "embarrassing" the youngest team in the tournament, Song Lam Nghe An, with their experienced combat experience and luck?

Youth is a valuable asset, but experience on the field and in the technical area is equally valuable. Unfortunately, the youth of Huy Hoang and the young players of Song Lam Nghe An have been causing them confusion and disarray in the previous season and even now. The team will continue to pay the price for this move and hopefully every failure or lack of success will bring them many valuable lessons.

For a long time, Song Lam Nghe An has rarely hesitated when coming to the football fields of the Central region, but who knows, maybe this time it will be a reality that will make them... open their eyes? Last season, Song Lam Nghe An had an incomprehensible and frustrating loss to both SHB Da Nang and Binh Dinh. This season, the two teams above continue to be "nemeses" and who knows, the experienced Khanh Hoa may add to this unexpected list. Mr. Vo Dinh Tan is more than capable of "reading" Huy Hoang on the table, so this young coach needs to know how to worry and think early, otherwise things will slip out of reach, having to run around after the 4th round and the break of the V-League...