HOANG AT A LOSS FOR WORDS AFTER VIETNAM'S HISTORIC SUCCESS
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan was almost at a loss for words after Vietnam defeated Bahrain 1-0 in their AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 quarter-final match…
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Tran Thanh’s (pictured, right) instinctive chip over the goalkeeper in the 72nd minute decided what had been a fairly even contest as Bahrain failed to find an equaliser before time ran out.
This historic result means Vietnam, a team which had never gotten past the group stage before, extend their historic run in the competition.
“What can I say now? This is a big football story,” said Hoang. “I am very happy and proud of my players.
“This is the result of a long period of preperation, not just the match you see today.
“To build mentality and focus, you need time. That is our strong point and you saw it today with our mentality and fighting spirit.”
Vietnam soaked up plenty of attacking pressure in the first half against Bahrain before finding the winner midway through the second period, something which Hoang revealed was the plan all along.
“Information is everything in modern football,” said the Vietnam coach. “We did our research and found out everything we could about the Bahrain team.
“We realised that fitness was a problem for them and after 70 to 75 minutes they would tire and start making mistakes. That was what happened today.
“Our players understand us when we tell them if Myanmar can do it, so can we. We have made Vietnam football history so thank you to them and to all the supporters back home.”
Opponents Bahrain had high hopes going into the match, but the home fans went home disappointed after the 1-0 loss.
“I would like to apologise to the Bahraini fans who came for this match today,” said coach Abdulaziz Abdo. “Sometimes you have a dream and you think about it a lot but in the end it doesn’t happen.
“We conceded a goal from a free kick in today’s match and couldn’t get back into the game and for that I would like to say I’m sorry.
“Don’t blame my players, you can blame me instead. I would like to wish them luck in the future because this generation has good talent and we must try for the coming championship in 2020.
“The problem was that most of the players do not have enough stamina because most of them are not playing in the Bahraini League.
“The Bahraini Football Association has helped by giving them all the training camps and matches they needed, but we didn’t fulfil our dream because we made a mistake in this match and conceded a goal.
“Maybe I still have the chance to train this players and I hope I do to train them for another shot in 2020 and for the World Cup in 2022.”
