Vietnam coach not happy despite big win against Indonesia

“The opening game is always tough but Vietnam players have put in the effort and it paid off with a worthy result,” Park said in the press conference after the game. “There are many games ahead and we will try to get the best results.”

“After 60 minutes, I noticed that Indonesia players were tired. I told my players during the break that they must keep the pressure on the opponent. I also made a few adjustments and Vietnam succeeded.”

Vietnam entered the game with confidence and dominated most of the game. However, they couldn’t convert the chances.

Things changed in the second half when Park put Nham Manh Dung on the field and the young forward assisted the first goal of Vietnam for Nguyen Tien Linh. 20 minutes later, he made another assist for captain Do Hung Dung to double the lead for Vietnam. The third goal was scored in the 87th minute from a lucky strike of Le Van Do.

Despite the impressive result, Park was still not happy.

“Among the players in this game, there were some inexperienced ones. I still saw mistakes come from individuals. We will have to improve this,” he added.

Indonesia coach Shin Tae-young blamed several factors that affected the result. “I don’t have much to say. Congratulations Vietnam!”

“However, there were three offside plays in this game and the referee didn’t raise the flag. It affected us and cost us the game,” he said. “Vietnam also got to play at home, while we had to trained on the fields that look like elementary school, so the quality of our playing style was decreased. But I believe with the current players, Indonesia can go further.”

In the next game on Sunday, Vietnam will face the Philippines, who defeated Timor Leste 4-0 in their first match of SEA Games 31. Park said the team will prepare carefully for this game.