Coach Huynh Duc: 'Stop constantly mentioning Tien Linh's performance'

Coach Le Huynh Duc hopes the media will not continue to raise questions about Tien Linh's performance after the National Cup quarter-final match on March 20.

After the narrow 1-0 victory over Truong Tuoi Dong Nai in the National Cup quarter-final, Coach Le Huynh Duc made notable remarks during the press conference, particularly focusing on striker Nguyen Tien Linh's form.

Speaking about the team's overall effort, he stated that the players have clearly improved in competitive spirit, enthusiasm, and cohesion: “Since the previous match, the players have performed with more passion, better morale, and greater unity. That is precisely what helped us overcome a difficult game.”

Notably, the coach expressed dissatisfaction with the repeated discussion of Tien Linh's “goal drought.” He emphasized that this inadvertently creates unnecessary pressure on the player: “Don’t keep mentioning it. When a player fails to score, we will encourage and coach them to regain their form. Excessive attention makes it harder to perform. We need calmness; I will support Linh greatly.”

According to Coach Le Huynh Duc, a striker experiencing a period without scoring is entirely normal in football. What matters more is the overall contribution to the team's play and results: “Strikers always have such phases. The important thing is that the team wins.”

Further commenting on the situation where Tien Linh passed the penalty to Khoa Ngo in the 76th minute, the former Vietnam national team striker said: “Tien Linh correctly acknowledged his teammate's effort in earning the penalty. That is recognition for Khoa's hard work.”

With this victory, CA TP.HCM secured a spot in the National Cup semi-final and will face Nam Dinh FC. Coach Le Huynh Duc affirmed the team will strive to the utmost in the next stage: “Once in the semi-final, everyone wants to reach the final match. This is a knockout tournament; we will try our best to advance.”