Thanh Hoa Club lost the top spot, what did coach Popov say?

"This was a difficult match, because before the match we lost Paulo Conrado and Lam Ti Phong due to injury. Thanh Hoa Club does not have a strong squad like Hanoi Police Club or Hanoi Club. The player injuries affected the team's playing style. I had difficulty deploying a new squad due to a lack of players. In addition, after 11 rounds, the opponents already knew what formation Thanh Hoa Club played with, so the coaching staff had to change to a new tactic. We have only practiced this formation for 2 weeks, so it could not operate well. In the second half, Thanh Hoa Club returned to the old formation and imposed and pressed the opponent," coach Velizar Popov shared after Thanh Hoa Club's 0-0 draw with Nam Dinh Club at Thien Truong Stadium in round 12 of V-League 2023 at 6:00 p.m. on June 24.

Thanh Hoa Club (red shirt) lost points on away field

MINH TU

The goalless draw at Thien Truong is clearly something that neither Nam Dinh nor Thanh Hoa want, because it will hold both teams back while top opponents like Cong An Ha Noi and Ha Noi FC are attacking strongly.

With a 4-2 victory over Ha Tinh Club, Hanoi Police Club rose to the top with 24 points, 1 point more than second-placed Thanh Hoa.

Coach Popov stated: "The V-League interruption has affected Thanh Hoa Club, however, I am satisfied that the team played well in the second half for 45 minutes. I am also satisfied with the current players that Thanh Hoa Club owns."

Talking about the championship race, Thanh Hoa's strategist expressed: "Everything is still ahead and in phase 2, the race to the championship will be even more fierce when the point gap between the teams in the top group is not large."

On the opposite side, coach Vu Hong Viet of Nam Dinh Club shared: "At some points, the players played poorly, not in line with the coaching staff's intentions and lost control of the game. I am not satisfied with my players' ability to take advantage of opportunities. With 5 matches without a win, of course I have pressure. But I think, in football, there must be pressure for oneself to improve. Nam Dinh Club still has a chance to enter the group of 8 teams competing for the championship when phase 1 ends, which means an early ticket to stay in the league. We have one more match and our direct competitors have not yet broken away."

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