Vietnam’s Gong, Korea Republic’s Hwang satisfied after fighting draw
Head coach Gong Oh-kyun was proud of Vietnam for rising up to challenge against AFC U23 Asian Cup™ defending champions Korea Republic, but was disappointed not to have taken full advantage against the 10-man side.
06/06/2022 15:12:16
Substitute Cho Young-wook scored his third goal of the tournament in the 63rd minute to hand Korea Republic the lead, who were then reduced to 10 men when Lee Jin-yong was sent off 15 minutes later with Vu Tien Long’s impressive strike in the 83rd sealing a point for Vietnam.
The result also meant Vietnam ended Korea Republic’s seven-game winning streak stretching back to their 2020 campaign, but Gong said the target had been to upset the tournament favourites.
“I didn’t plan to play to a draw,” said Gong. “I told my players from the beginning that we are playing to win. We didn’t want to play to a draw with Korea Republic.
“I was a little worried before the match because we didn’t have enough time to prepare, but the players showed a great performance.”
“Nobody in the team was satisfied with the result. Korea Republic are a strong team, and their players’ ability is so good, but our team ran more and tried harder.
“I’m so sorry about today’s result, but I appreciate my players for trying their best.”
It was a case of missed opportunities for Korea Republic, who had 70 percent of possession and fired a total 24 shots – three times more than Vietnam.
Korea Republic head coach Hwang also felt that they had lost two crucial points, which would have assured them of a top two finish in the group. Following Thailand’s 3-0 win over Malaysia in the day’s later match, the group has now swung wide open.
“In a centralised competition like this, there are a lot of variables you have to control, and as the coach, I have failed to control them, which is the reason for the result,” said Hwang.
“I don’t think Vietnam were necessarily lucky, this is football and anything can happen. The only difference was that I had to take appropriate measures with 10 players.
“My impression of this Vietnam team with the new coach is that they are very well organised with good team spirit, which is very impressive. I believe that coach Gong is creating a great team. If we ever meet each other in the future, it will be another great game.”
Hwang said he couldn’t call on key players like Lee Kang-in, who also plays with the senior national team, which forced him to juggle the starting lineup.
“Lee Kang-in had a slight injury so he couldn’t play, and I didn’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Hwang said.
“I also wanted to test our options with player combinations, since they all have different physical conditions. I expected the match to be difficult and the players did their best.”
Following Sunday’s results, Korea Republic and Thailand are on four points and will battle for top spot when they meet on Wednesday.
Source: AFC
