Song Lam Nghe An kicked-off their 2020 V.League 1 relegation group campaign in the best way possible after they had hammered Quang Nam FC 4-1 at the Vinh Stadium on Sunday. Ho Tuan Tai was the standout performer for SLNA with his two goals, while Phan Van Duc put out a solid performance as well as SLNA ruthlessly mauled the shellshocked 2017 V.League 1 champions.
Having performed well in the early stages of the season’s first half only to tail off quite significantly afterwards, SLNA found themselves in the V.League 1’s relegation group as they prepare for their Round 14 match on Sunday. Ngo Quang Truong’s men would love to redeem themselves by performing as best as they could in the relegation group matches and the win over Quang Nam showed the determination that SLNA have in their fight against relegation.
Van Duc showed everyone at the Vinh Stadium what SLNA could do with a shot that tested Quang Nam’s veteran custodian Nguyen Minh Nhut in the 2nd minute. The men in yellow then took the lead in the 21st minute, with Tuan Tai receiving a long ball from the midfield courtesy of Ho Sy Sam before proceeding to outsmart Hoang Vissai and firing off a shot that went straight towards the far corner.
Tuan Tai then doubled SLNA’s lead in the 36th minute, taking advantage of a short pass from Van Duc to fire a powerful shot that left Minh Nhut completely speechless. 2-0 SLNA, and that was the scoreline as the referee blew for half-time.
The second half saw SLNA delivering the same intensity that they had in the first 45 minutes and in the 58th minute the men from Vinh found themselves three goals up. Former PSMS Medan striker Felipe Martins fired home from close range to triple SLNA’s lead, capping off an excellent attacking move that was conducted by Van Duc.
And three minutes after Martins’ goal, the three points were pretty much guaranteed for SLNA after Peter Samuel managed to dribble the ball around Minh Nhut and slotting it into the empty Quang Nam goal, allowing SLNA to go 4-0 up over their utterly stunned visitors.
Quang Nam did had the time to claw a consolation goal back through Papa Ibou Kebe in the 85th minute, but by then it was too little too late. The 4-1 victory meant that SLNA leapfrogged Thanh Hoa FC to go 10th in the V.League 1 table, while Quang Nam remained rooted in the bottom of the league table.