Group H: What the coaches said

AFC CUP 2009

SINGAPORE: Home United coach PN Sivaji felt that his side rode their luck at times as they began their Group H campaign in the AFC Cup with a 2-1 win over Vietnamese champions Binh Duong at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday.

Goals by Juma’at Jantan and Cameroonian striker Kengne Ludovick gave the Singapore side a 2-0 lead but Kesley Alves cut the deficit and the Vietnamese side missed out on a point when Helio’s late effort was blocked on the line by S Subramani.

“I am very happy with the win. We knew it would be a tough game as Binh Duong have played at the AFC Champions League level and they did not disappoint with the way they played tonight,” said Sivaji.

“They played some beautiful football but we tried to stop them and catch them on the counter-attack. I think that our plan worked and I’m very happy with the result.

“Of course, luck was a factor at time but I felt that we deserved the win.”

While disappointed with the result, Binh Duong coach Francisco Vital was heartened by the performance of his side.

“I don’t think that we played badly tonight but Home United played a bit better,” said the Portuguese.

“I think it was an even game but we were maybe not as fortunate in front of goal.

“It was a disappointing result but nothing is finished in our group. All four teams are quite equal in standard so we will try to get a result at home in our next game and see what happens.”

In the other Group H game, Falcao scored two goals including an early penalty as Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority won 3-1 in the Maldives against Valencia.

“We had confidence that we could win and luck also helped us to win the game,” said PEA coach Thongsuk Samphangsit.

“The penalty was the turning point of the game. After that Valencia was under pressure and it was easy for us to pass the ball and to find space.”

Valencia coach Jozef Dzurjack was left to lament a poor start by his team who trailed 2-0 at half-time.

“We tried our best to get something out of the game but the players do not have the experience to compete at this level,” he said.

“We made some silly mistakes and we were punished for that.“