Gong Oh-kyun, U23 Vietnam's head coach, in his first post-match press conference. (Photo: VNA) The reign ofGong Oh-kyun started with a surprising display of attacking football and moderngegenpressing tactics. The “Golden Star Warriors” were never on the back footin their match against Thailand.
Both goals byPhan Tuan Tai and Nguyen Van Tung originated from great pressing and openplay, rather than solo dribbles and set pieces like the senior Vietnam side.
However,Gong's youngsters lacked the composure and stamina needed for a modern pressinggame. Most notably in the second half, many players went down with injuries andall five substitutions were used up before the 65th minute.
And it wasthese pivotal points that led to Suphanat Mueanta sneaking his way past Vietnam'sdefence to score the late equaliser for the Thais when the game seemed to be inVietnam's bag.
Despite thedisappointing draw, coach Gong still sang praises of his players.
"Myplayers played like warriors. They tried their hardest and that is for me themost important thing," said Gong.
"Someplayers have health problems pre-match, but the replacements still did theirjob well.
"Theseare new and young players. They are eager to prove themselves, even the oneswho are injured early. I am grateful for their efforts," said the Koreancoach.
Vietnam'sinjury list now includes No 1 keeper Nguyen Van Toan, Tran Danh Trung,Nguyen Van Truong, and Le Minh Binh on top of Nguyen Thanh Binh and Ly Cong HoangAnh who had food poisoning before the June 2 match.
The RoK onthe other hand have shown class and proved why they are the defendingchampions. Hwang Sun-hong, a former player under Park Hang-seo duringhis time with the RoK national team, is currently the manager of the team.
Hwang's squadincludes Lee Kang-in, the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup Golden Ball winner, as wellas Hong Hyun-seok and Jeong Sang-bin, who play top-flight football in Europe.
But it is notthe individuals of the young Taeguk Warriors that are worrisome, but rathertheir clinical style of play.
In their matchagainst Malaysia on June 2, coach Hwang's men exploited Harimau Malaya'smistakes in defence and punished them heavily, most notably in the last twominutes of the game when Malaysia's stamina deteriorated, and they endedthe game with an emphatic 4-1 win.
Gong,however, is still positive about Vietnam's chances to progress further.
"We havetwo more matches and my team is fully prepared. The newly injured players mightnot start, but Hoang Anh and Thanh Binh will return.
"I onlyfocus on how my team will play, and because of that, I don't find the need toadapt to the opponent's play.
"AlthoughI am a Korean, my job is with Vietnam and I am fullycommitted," said Gong./.
VNA
