Vietnam U23 goalkeeper coach defends Bui Tien Dung

Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung.

In the second match of Group G at the AFC Cup 2018, Thanh Hoa Club lost to Yangon United with a score of 1-2. In the match on the afternoon of February 27, Thanh Hoa scored a goal to take the lead in the 5th minute, but goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung's mistake in the 67th minute helped Yangon United equalize the score 1-1. Just 3 minutes before the match ended, Yangon United scored the winning goal 2-1 when the home team's striker defeated the goalkeeper born in 1997 in a face-to-face situation.

Talking to the domestic press today about the performance of goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung in Thanh Hoa's shirt in the match against Yangon United in the AFC Cup 2018 on the afternoon of February 27, the goalkeeper coach of the Vietnam U23 team, Nguyen Duc Canh, said:“In all situations of high balls and within 16m50, Tien Dung still controlled and mastered the situation.”

Coach Nguyen Duc Canh spoke up to defend goalkeeper Tien Dung.

Talking about the situation where Tien Dung made a mistake and helped Yangon United equalize the score 1-1 in the 67th minute, coach Nguyen Duc Canh affirmed that the goalkeeper born in 1997 dived too quickly in this situation:“The situation where Tien Dung lost the first goal was because he dived too quickly, causing the ball to go into his stomach more and bounce out. If Dung could have caught it or pushed it to the side, things would have been different. But unfortunately, he dived too quickly. As for the second goal, when he was facing the striker, Dung cannot be blamed.”

In his speech, coach Nguyen Duc Canh affirmed that blaming Tien Dung for Thanh Hoa's defeat in the last match would be too harsh:“The opponent player kicks the ball from the 16m50 line, the important thing is how Dung handles it, but judging the mistake is a bit too harsh. As you can see, before Dung handled the pass poorly, the defense left too much space for the opponent, so Dung had to face a dangerous shot.”

Accordingly, in the first goal conceded by the Thanh team, Thanh Hoa's defense revealed a huge gap:“If Dung had been luckier, his pass would not have gone straight to the opposing team’s striker. If anyone is to be blamed for the goal, the defense will have to take the first responsibility. Therefore, saying that Thanh Hoa’s first goal was due to Dung is not entirely accurate. Perhaps because people expected too much of Dung after the 2018 U23 Asian tournament, they were a bit harsh.”

For his part, after Thanh Hoa's 1-2 defeat in their away match against Yangon United, goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung apologized to the fans and coaching staff of the Thanh team for his poor performance:"Dung sincerely apologizes to the coaching staff, teammates and fans for his performance today. After Thuong Chau, Yangon will be another memory that helps Dung try harder every day. Today I tried very hard, but that was not enough,"

The goalkeeper born in 1997 affirmed that he will try harder if Thanh Hoa's coaching staff puts their trust in him during the away match in Indonesia in the 3rd round of AFC Cup 2018 taking place on March 7:“In Bali, this effort must be stronger. For the homeland, for the teammates and for the people who love Dung. Thank you everyone for always being by Dung's side!".