Round 16 V.League, SLNA – Saigon: No mercy?

In the first leg at Thong Nhat Stadium, both Saigon FC and SLNA played an exciting match with 4 goals divided equally between the two teams. The Nghe An team took the lead with a goal by Vo Ngoc Toan. However, two goals by Pedro Paulo and Quoc Phuong almost made SLNA suffer a bitter defeat if not for Ho Tuan Tai's equalizer 2-2.

In the second leg, Saigon FC had quite thorough preparation with the addition of quality striker Nguyen Dinh Bao and two foreign players Gustavo Santos and Geovane Magno from Brazil. However, Saigon started the first leg of V.League 2019 with a 2-2 draw at home against Than Quang Ninh and a 1-3 loss at Quang Nam.

“This is a difficult match for us, because SLNA is a quality team. It is not easy to win 3 points on their field, especially when SLNA is also thirsty for victory, no less than Saigon.”

Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong

Despite having foreign player Joel Vinicus, SLNA has not performed well. The Nghe An team was held to a 0-0 draw by SHB Da Nang at Vinh Stadium before being defeated by Thanh Hoa 2-0 in the most recent round. In those two matches, SLNA did not have conductor Ho Khac Ngoc in midfield.

It is worth mentioning that the quality of the SLNA strikers' shots is at an alarming level. In the match against SHB Da Nang, Michael Olaha and his teammates launched 3/7 shots on target, while in the match against Thanh Hoa, only 4/15 were aimed at the opponent's goal. All 22 shots could not bring SLNA even a single goal.

SLNA and Saigon drew 2-2 in a dramatic first leg at Thong Nhat Stadium. Photo: Nguyet Ha

In the history of confrontation, the two teams met a total of 8 times in which SLNA won 4, lost 3, and drew 1. And if Pedro Paulo is the leading scorer of Saigon FC with 6 goals, Michael Olaha of SLNA has only stopped at 4 goals. Statistics show that Michael Olaha is in the group of 4 players with the most shots in V.League 2019 with 40 shots.

Unlike SLNA, Saigon FC plays with a domestic striker and a foreign player in the attack. The strength of the away team comes from the midfield when possessing two foreign players G. Kizito and Geovane Magno, veteran midfielder Nguyen Ngoc Duy is also a very notable player on the Saigon FC side with 3 goals this season.

Regarding the squad, SLNA will likely welcome the return of midfielder Ho Khac Ngoc after his injury and the Nghe An team is still rated higher when playing at home. At Vinh Stadium this season in V.League 2019, SLNA is still unbeaten with 4 wins and 3 draws. That will be a challenge for coach Nguyen Thanh Cong and his students on the day of returning to their homeland.

Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong returns to face his hometown team. Photo: SG Club

Currently on the V.League 2019 rankings, SLNA is in 5th place with 22 points while Saigon FC is in 9th place with 19 points. If they defeat Saigon, coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team still have a great chance to return to the Top 3. However, if they lose, SLNA will certainly not be able to maintain their position in the Top 5 because the gap with the teams below is only 2 points.

The match between SLNA and Saigon takes place at 5:00 p.m. at Vinh Stadium this afternoon (July 16)./.

EXPECTED LINEUP:

SLNA: TM Nguyen Manh, Dinh Hoang, Van Khanh, Damir Memovic, Dinh Dong, Xuan Thang, Ngoc Toan, Khac Ngoc, Xuan Manh, Michael Olaha, Joel Vinicius.

Saigon: TM Van Hoang, Quoc Long, Nam Anh, Van Ngo, Gustavo, Quoc Phuong, G. Kizito, Van Trien, Geovane Magno, Xuan Toan, Dinh Bao.

PREDICTION: 2-1

Song Lam Nghe An won the National Youth Championship for the 7th time

(Baonghean.vn) - It is not surprising that the highly rated team U13 SLNA defeated U13 SLF Thanh Vinh to successfully defend the championship.