Round 21 V.League: Rimario's "strange" hat-trick

First of all, in this match, the coaching staffHAGL fielded a rather unusual lineup, which was an important reason for the away team FLC Thanh Hoa to play more easily. They let Cong Phuong and Van Thanh rest on the bench, while Xuan Truong could not be present after a minor nose surgery.

Of the players who played at the 2018 ASIAD, only Van Toan and Minh Vuong were on the field. Standing in the goal was not the usual Pham Van Tien, instead was the young goalkeeper Rmar Suo, born in 1996 - who wore gloves for the first time this season.

61 minutes is enough for a hat-trick

Of course, coming from a player background, Coach Duc Thang quickly recognized the changes in the starting lineup of Head Coach Duong Minh Ninh to direct the FLC Thanh Hoa players to attack.

National players Minh Tuan and Trong Hoang used their speed to attack the home team's two wings. In the 6th minute, Minh Tuan dribbled the ball on the left wing, attracting the attention of goalkeeper Rmar Su before passing to former HAGL striker Rimario for a simple finish into the empty net.

Names like Minh Vuong and Dong Trieu were gradually pushed back to the home field by the away players Hoang Thinh and Pape Omar. Not long after, Thanh Hoa scored the second goal when Minh Tuan continued to have a long pass for Rimario to break through, successfully break the offside trap and then successfully finish in a face-off with Rmar Suo.

"Swallow" Van Toan could not save HAGL from a heavy 0-3 defeat. Photo: Internet

Osmar Francisco was hungry for the ball, HAGL did not have many opportunities to attack. The home team's attack plan depended on the breakthroughs of Minh Vuong or Van Toan. Meanwhile, after scoring 2 goals, coach Duc Thang instructed the players to play low, sending many long passes up to the 2 foreign players.

This style of play has caused HAGL many difficulties because the HAGL defenders' ability to compete is far inferior to the two foreign players who have just made SLNA players suffer at Vinh Stadium.

After 2 big misses in the second half, in the 61st minute, Rimario also scored his 3rd goal in this match in his return to Plei-ku stadium. From Omar's header, the Jamaican striker easily accelerated past defender Zeba Josip and shot hard into the net of his former team, completing his hat-trick.

When signing a contract with the Jamaican striker, who plays with a strong style, HAGL's coaching staff expected that this player would play aggressively and would be compatible with Cong Phuong to form a good striker pair for the Mountain City team. But in reality, Rimario played a "game-breaking" style, the ball often came to this player out of sync, many times he had to fight alone in a forest of opposing defenders.

Old you, new me

Surprisingly, the Jamaican striker played 801 minutes for Pho Nui but could not score a single goal and had to leave Cao Nguyen to play for Thanh Hoa. However, when he returned to Pleiku, it only took him 61 minutes to complete a hat-trick against his old team.

On his return to Pleiku, it only took Rimario 61 minutes to complete a hat-trick against his old team. Photo: Internet

In the Thanh Hoa team's jersey, Rimario plays lower. FLC Thanh Hoa players often fill in the gaps so that the Jamaican striker can race, stretch the opponent's formation, and wear down the opponent's defenders.

In the 4-0 victory over SLNA at Vinh Stadium, defenders Van Khanh, Ngoc Hai, and Manh Hung were exhausted by this defender. Left-back Manh Hung was passed by Rimario, could not control himself and swung his arm to hit this striker, and was given a red card by the referee and sent off the field.

Sharing more about the fact that HAGL's "rejected product" played brilliantly when he came to Thanh Hoa, yesterday scoring a hat-trick against his old team to help the away team get all 3 points, coach Nguyen Duc Thang said: "Each coach has a different way of working. I would like to refrain from commenting on why HAGL dropped Rimario. But I see that Rimario fits our playing style. Thanh Hoa has put a lot of pressure on him to improve himself, play for the team, integrate and get good results."

Are V-League foreign players strange or do our coaches not know how to exploit their players' strengths?