Coach Kiatisuk: 'Nam Dinh's reserve is equal to HAGL's main squad'

Thien Truong Stadium is always a pan of fire in the V-League. And when Nam Dinh received HAGL yesterday, the audience of Nam Thanh continued to cover most of the stands. Coach Kiatisuk said he was very impressed with this image and it reminded him of the match 20 years ago, when he and HAGL were guests here. That match more than 35,000 people came, climbed on the machinery that was repairing the field, spilled down the border, to watch Nam Dinh defeat the new V-League king.

That year HAGL with a dream team, led by leader Kiatisuk, won the V-League. But currently, the mountain town team does not have such a position. Despite escaping this defeat, manager Doan Nguyen Duc's army only got eighth place with three points after three matches.

"The fans understand our situation. Recently many of HAGL's pillars have gone, my task is to rebuild the young force to continue the way of playing," said coach Kiatisuk. "Because of the inexperienced players, it was difficult. At first I didn't know how many points the team would get after the first four rounds, but now there are three points after three games. Nam Dinh is strong in this match, many of their reserve players are still missing. has the same expertise as my main player. In the near future we will have to face the Hanoi Police with a very strong force. We can only encourage each other, try each match."

Hagel conceded the ball in the second minute after Yang Qinghao's header, when the centre-back joined the attack in the corner of Nanding. Coach Kiatisuk's team then created many opportunities, but it was not until the 79th minute that Zhou Yuguang was able to level the score when he correctly headed the goal after the free-kick of the substitute player in the second half. But only four minutes later, the visiting team was pushed to the chase position because they forgot to follow Ding Qingchang and let the players cut themselves at a high angle. Coach Kiatisuk stood outside the stadium and shook his head in frustration. When the home team faced defeat, their fans were also obviously disappointed. But in the make-up phase, Washington successfully rescued Hagel. The foreign forward picked up Chen Mingwang's corner and headed goalkeeper Chen Yuanmeng to help Hagel draw 2-2.

"Thank you to the players for not giving up. They keep the belief that they can go upstream," said coach Kiatisuk. "We really wanted to win, but conceded a goal early, we had to change our tactics. Nam Dinh is playing at home, the fans are very crowded. But my players have worked very hard. I am satisfied with a point obtained."

At the end of the 2022 season, many of HAGL's pillars did not renew their contracts, looking for a new stop. In which, midfielder Nguyen Huu Tuan and winger Nguyen Phong Hong Duy joined Nam Dinh. The duo were included in the starting lineup when the Thien Truong Stadium team welcomed HAGL. Talking about them, coach Kiatisuk said: "When Huu Tuan and Hong Duy left HAGL, I really wanted them to grow up and succeed in a new environment. And now they are all playing well. But in some respects, Now I want to kill and execute them because I want to win against Nam Dinh. Just kidding, but I really hope they improve and be happy to see them play well in this match."

The match between HAGL and Hanoi Police took place at Pleiku Stadium on February 19.