Coach Duc Thang: "SLNA does not underestimate the opponent"

SLNA played tight defense against Persija. Photo: Football5star

Throughout the 90 minutes of play at Bung Karno Stadium, Coach Duc Thang's players played an effective defensive counter-attack. And it seemed like SLNA had earned a point, but in the 90+3 minute, the home team's Brazilian foreign player Addison Alvers took advantage of a moment of weakness on SLNA's left wing to defeat goalkeeper Le Quang Dai.

After the match, coach Duc Thang said: "We came here with not the best preparation in terms of strength, but not because we underestimated our opponents, we had to focus on the ongoing Vietnam National Championship. The players had to maintain good physical condition to avoid injuries. We tried our best throughout the match but the final result was still unfair. Hopefully the players can show a better match in the future."

As for coach Stefano Cugurra, he fielded a team of 3 strikers, 2 Brazilian players, and 1 Croatian player against SLNA, who did not have any foreign players playing defensively.

"I told the players before the match, the opponent organized a very good defense. However, during the match, SLNA lost the advantage, they wanted to end the game with a point. However, we won. Now we have the same points as SLNA but are ranked above them," said the Brazilian strategist.

The match between Persja Jakarta and Song Lam Nghe An took place in a passionate atmosphere with the cheers of about 40,000 Indonesian fans. According to the Indonesian press, because of that passion, Bung Karno Stadium suffered quite a lot of damage as many seats were severely damaged.

Today (March 15), Coach Duc Thang and his team will return to prepare for the match against S. Khanh Hoa BVN in round 2 of V.League 2018 taking place on Sunday, March 18. That is the match in which the Nghe An team will have the strongest lineup with 2 foreign players except for goalkeeper Nguyen Manh./.

Losing in extra time, SLNA was dethroned by Persija Jakata

(Baonghean.vn) - Going to Indonesia to play as guests at Persija Jakata, SLNA did not bring their strongest squad, but coach Duc Thang's students still stood firm for 90 minutes against the home team and suffered a bitter defeat right in the extra time.