On the evening of February 1st, Dong A Thanh Hoa club drew dramatically 2-2 against Nam Dinh. Although being underestimated and letting the opponent take a 2-goal lead right from the first half, Doan Ngoc Tan and his teammates played resiliently to keep 1 point at home with a final score of 2-2.
Speaking after the match, coach Mai Xuan Hop said: "I would like to share a little of my feelings after today's match, especially in the tense final minutes. But before talking about personal feelings, I want to send my sincere thanks to the entire team, the brothers who directly played on the field as well as the brothers who could not play for many different reasons but still always accompanied, sacrificed and supported the team.
This draw at the present time is really important to us. In the context that the team is facing countless difficulties, what makes me most proud is the consensus, fighting spirit and identity of the people of Thanh Hoa.
In today's squad, there are players who are not from Thanh Hoa, but you have accepted sacrifice, put aside all difficulties in finance, living conditions and personal circumstances to go to the field to play with the highest spirit. For me, that is more than wonderful.
The captain of the Thanh team added: "We take the field with a force of only 13-14 people, but the spirit and dedication of the brothers are completely commendable.
Regarding the inability to replace players in the match, as you have seen, some people have sprained their ankles but still suppress the pain to go to the field with their teammates, some people have high fever but still wear jerseys and sit with their brothers on the bench, some people have knee pain but are still willing to put on shoes to play.
If it weren't for that sacrifice, we would even only have 11 people on the field. That is really painful for me as a coach.
Before closing the press conference, Mr. Hop shared: "Currently, everyone knows that Dong A Thanh Hoa Club is facing many financial difficulties after the recent incidents. Therefore, I earnestly hope that I will receive attention and support from philanthropists, from provincial leaders, departments, agencies, especially the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism so that the team can overcome this difficult period.
This is an urgent issue, because we really don't have much time left. On February 8th, the team will have to play against Ho Chi Minh City Police and with the current thin force, I'm not sure the players can maintain their spirit and fitness like this forever.
