Coach Mai Duc Chung: 'I don't blame, but the referee's handling was not fair'

Despite many attacks but unable to turn their chances into goals, the Vietnamese women's team had to accept defeat when they conceded a goal in extra time from Ramirez, thereby suffering defeat against the Philippines.

After the loss, coach Mai Duc Chung sadly shared: "The Vietnamese women's team lost very regrettably. Given the way the match went, a draw would have been a more reasonable result. Regarding the situation that led to Vietnam's loss, I take responsibility, but I must also say that there were a few situations where the referee handled things unfairly."

"I'm not blaming, but we need fairness. There was a situation where the ball touched the opponent's hand but they didn't blow it, but with Vietnam they blew it very tightly, while they were more lenient with the Philippines," the 76-year-old coach commented, "The Philippines didn't have any clear coordination. They just took advantage of the high ball and strength. They played simply like that, without any coherent coordination. Losing in the last minute was really a pity."

Vietnam women's team conceded a goal in injury time. (Photo: Duc Cuong)

In addition, the coach of the Vietnam women's team said that the arrangement of three new central defenders because Diem My has experience in playing in the back, the remaining two central defenders have good physique to prevent high balls and has brought about results. However, he admitted that there were some ineffective substitutions, the players were a bit passive, and did not exploit the opponent's weaknesses.

"In the tactical meeting, we decided not to play high balls, but many times the players played spontaneously. Our mistake was to continuously cross the ball. I reminded many times that we had to play low balls and coordinate with small triangles, but because the team's distance was not good, the players were forced to play long balls," he said.

According to coach Mai Duc Chung, the Vietnamese team still has a chance to advance. "If we beat Myanmar, we will pass the group stage. Then there is a possibility that all three teams will have 6 points and when comparing the goal difference, we will still have an advantage over Myanmar and the Philippines if this scenario happens," he said.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/hlv-mai-duc-chung-toi-khong-do-loi-nhung-trong-tai-xu-ly-chua-cong-bang-post1802946.tpo