Rimario Gordon of Bình Dương celebrates his goal at the V.League 1 on Saturday. Photo thanhnien.vn

Football

HẢI PHÒNG — Coach Chu Đình Nghiêm of Hải Phòng was happy to see Rimario Gordon doing well at his new club Bình Dương when the two sides met in the V.League 1 on Saturday, despite the fact Gordon managed to put two past his old side.

However, he does regret not being able to keep him in the Hải Phòng side after their successful 2022 season together.

"I don't regret seeing Gordon score two goals against Hải Phòng. I regret letting him go after the last season. I told Hải Phòng’s chairman that he was an indispensable player to our squad and someone I would love to keep, but the club's budget and direction were not enough for Gordon. This is beyond my ability," Nghiêm said at the press conference after the match.

At the Lạch Tray Stadium, Hải Phòng almost lost to Bình Dương on the opening day of V.Leauge 1 2023. Defensive errors caused the team to concede two goals in the 2nd and 77th minutes, both courtesy of Gordon. Only two late goals from Carlos Fernandes and Joseph Mpande in the dying minutes managed to salvage a point for Hải Phòng.

Coach Nghiêm said: "Concentration is a problem for Hải Phòng. In the first half, Bình Dương only had one chance. It was only a cross, but they scored a goal. In that situation, Bình Dương had only Gordon in front of a lot of Hải Phòng players, but my players were not focused. Đặng Văn Tới took a false step to let Gordon score."

“As for the second goal, Bicou Bissainthe and goalkeeper Nguyễn Văn didn’t coordinate well, allowing Gordon to score another goal. Almost the whole game, we lacked concentration in defence, while the attack line created a lot of opportunities, but we couldn't convert," Nghiêm added.

In addition to the loss of two good foreign players, Gordon and Moses Oloya, Nghiêm also rues the loss of Hoàng Thái Bình, Bùi Tiến Dụng and Dụng Quang Nho.

"Defence always needs a leader to fight back. Last year, we had Bùi Tiến Dụng. This year, Tới isn't that player yet and Bicou Bissainthe is a foreign player, so communication is difficult."

"Left-back is also a big problem for Hải Phòng. Last year, we had Hoàng Thai Hoàng Thái Bình, who played very well. If there was any problem, I still had Dụng Quang Nho, but this season Hải Phòng don’t have them," Nghiêm said.

Bình Dương coach Lư Đình Tuấn praised Hải Phòng's ability to claw their way back into the game. He said that Bình Dương's immediate goal is to enter the group competing for the title after the season's first leg.

"We played defensively for 80 minutes, but we made mistakes in the last moments of the game. Hải Phòng took full advantage of those errors. Those situations happened very quickly".

“However, the draw leaves me satisfied," Tuấn added. VNS