Vietnam coach Nguyen admits lucky result against Malaysia

Vietnam head coach Nguyen Huu Thang said his team was lucky to win against Malaysia in their second matchday at the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016.

Malaysia put on a defensive display against Vietnam and managed to keep them at bay until the 80th minute when midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang took advantage of several poor clearances from Malaysian players inside the penalty area.

“As I said earlier, it was a difficult match,” Nguyen remarked in his post-game press conference. “Malaysia were tough in defence, and they were also dangerous with long ball situations.

“We were lucky to score one goal and were also lucky in the last few minutes when they had chances but couldn’t score.”

Meanwhile, Malaysia coach Ong Kim Swee praised his team’s performance against the Golden Stars, but admitted that a lapse of concentration cost them a goal.

“It is frustrating because we played according to our game plan,” Ong remarked. “The boys did well but towards the end, but I believed that we lost to a better team.

“They kept going, they kept trying and that was where we lost concentration and a missed clearance from one of our players allowed them to score.”

The 45-year-old also turned his attention to co-hosts Myanmar, whom Harimau Malaysia will face in their final group match on Saturday.

“We have to look beyond this, we have another game to go and it’s up to us (to reach) the next round. I believe Myanmar will be under more pressure than us because they are hosts,” he told reporters.