Why is it difficult for Song Lam Nghe An to succeed with the 3-5-2 formation?

Winger but not strong on the wing

It is easy to see that Song Lam Nghe An mainly attacks from the two wings, and most of the goals of the Nghe team come from passes from the two wings or set pieces. The duo Mai Sy Hoang and Tran Dinh Hoang are the ones who play a big role in such situations. In addition, Olaha, Phan Van Duc or Oseni will proactively move to the two wings to coordinate with this duo before the ball is passed into the middle.

At the beginning of the season, the 5-3-2 formation brought Song Lam Nghe An many positive results. Photo: Xuan Thuy

When the attacking style of the wing mainly relies on 2 full-backs, it is clear that the attacking power of Song Lam Nghe An is not scary. The role of Sy Hoang and Dinh Hoang when participating in the attack is only to bring the ball down the 2 wings and make crosses into the inside, rarely seeing this duo penetrate into the center to make crosses. We also have to sympathize with these 2 players when their strong position is full-backs. Therefore, opponents seem to only need to block the way down the 2 wings for the Nghe An team to fall into a deadlock in approaching the goal. The matches against Dong A Thanh Hoa, Viettel Club and SHB Da Nang are the clearest proof.

Wing Hole

When the wings were not effective in the attack, Song Lam Nghe An had to suffer bitter consequences from these positions. With Sy Hoang and Dinh Hoang having to move up to play as wingers, they created gaps behind. The passes that penetrated the position between the center back and the full back to let the strikers run down quickly caused the Nghe An team many times to suffer.

In the match against SHB Da Nang, Song Lam Nghe An encountered many difficult situations with their playing style. Photo: Chung Le

The full-back duo seemed to be wavering between the two defensive and offensive tasks, so they were not effective on both fronts. Even when they focused on attacking, the 3 central defenders below did not cover them in time, forcing them to return to support the defense more. SituationSHB Da NangThe score of 2-1 in the last round proved that the gap left by Song Lam Nghe An's full-backs when participating in the attack was huge.

Weaknesses of 3 central defenders

Observing the movement of the 3 central defenders of Song Lam Nghe An at the time when they were behind 2-1 in the match against SHB Da Nang in round 16 of V.League, we can see the unreasonable formation of the Nghe An team. When the opponent team only had 1 striker up front, we had to assign 3 people to follow. That unintentionally dragged down the force to join the attack. Apart from the central defender, Captain Que Ngoc Hai, Hoang Van Khanh and Thai Ba Sang did not have any bright passes to launch the attack.

There are many teams in the world that use3 center back formation, in those teams, the wide center-backs are ready to hold the ball high to join in coordination with teammates on the opposing team's half, creating an overwhelming numerical advantage. Meanwhile, the 3 center-backs of the Nghe An team rarely go above the midfield line except in set pieces. When teammates are being closely monitored, gaps in the middle of the field are created, but our center-backs still do not take the initiative to go high to occupy those gaps to disrupt the opposing team's defense system. It feels like the 3 center-backs of the Nghe An team are afraid that their team will lose the ball and have to endure counter-attacks from the opposing team. Confidence is the point that Song Lam Nghe An has lost since the match against Hanoi Club in the first leg.

Coach Huy Hoang's favorite 5-3-2 formation can be transformed into 3-5-2 when attacking. Graphics: Xuan Quy

Team Break TimeNational Teamwill be the right time for Coach Huy Hoang to make adjustments. "Luckily" for Song Lam Nghe An, only 2 players Phan Van Duc and Que Ngoc Hai were called up this time, so the Nghe team will almost have a full squad to practice during this time. Hopefully when V.League 2022 returns, Song Lam Nghe An will "transform" to return to the top 3 race.