Coach Duc Thang praised his players after the victory over Viettel.

In the press conference after the match, coach Nguyen Duc Thang said: “I thank the fans who came to the stadium to watch and support the team. I thank the players before and during the match for showing their determination and effort to overcome this match.”

“The scores of the teams in the bottom group are very close and SLNA’s goal in the two home matches is to get points. The team spirit today is very good and they are eager to win. I am happy that the players possess that spirit and solidarity that helped SLNA win,” affirmed coach Duc Thang.

SLNA had an important victory against Viettel. Photo: Duc Anh

“When scoring early, I always urge the players to be alert and control the game. When SLNA scores, the opponent will rush forward to find an equalizer. At that time, the team will counterattack quickly. I am very sorry that SLNA missed many opportunities from Olaha or Tuan Tai. At the end of the match, I reminded the defense to play focused to preserve the score,” Mr. Thang concluded.

On Viettel’s side, Coach Nguyen Hai Bien shared: “After the first goal, especially the second yellow card of Almeida Santos. With a one-man deficit and a goal behind, we tried to maintain a tight defense and wait for a counter-attack opportunity. However, the second goal came very quickly.

I highly appreciate the spirit of the players who tried until the last minute. Of course, after the match, we have to learn from the situations of not playing with concentration. But in the situation of Almeida Santos' yellow card when he rushed out to block, the referee should have reminded him, but the second yellow card was a bit too harsh."

SLNA quenches its thirst for victory after a series of bad matches. Photo: Duc Anh

Finally, Viettel's head coach said: "SLNA has mental strength. There are situations where they tackle without fear of injury. But they can still cause injury to the opponent. I do not comment on the referee in this match, because there are referees who make the right or wrong call, maybe due to errors in judgment or from the referee's perspective."

The 3-1 victory over Viettel in the early match of round 19 of V.League 2019 helped SLNA rise to 4th place on the rankings with 26 points. Meanwhile, the away team Viettel ranked 8th with 24 points./.

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