"My players didn’t give up until the last seconds. I think this is a good game, although Indonesia didn’t win. But as a coach, I still want to say sorry to the fans because we couldn’t turn this great display into victory," Shin said after the game.
With the support of 50,000 home fans, Indonesia played confidently. Despite having less possession, they created many chances toward Vietnam’s goal, with seven shots in the first half. Shin also admitted that finishing is the biggest drawback as Indonesia couldn’t score. They had two great chances but Vietnam keeper Dang Van Lam denied them.
In the second half, Indonesia didn’t have the stamina to maintain their performance. They only had one more shot on goal. However, their defense is still solid and they managed to keep a clean sheet.
As the Indonesia head coach, Shin has yet to have a win against Park Hang-seo’s Vietnam. In the last three encounters, Indonesia lost two and drew one.
"This team are different compared to the previous encounters. Most of them have been training together for over a year. They also have better stamina and mentality. The only thing is that we couldn’t win today. We had some good chances, but couldn’t convert them," Shin added.
In the other press conference, Park said that Vietnam are stronger than Indonesia. Shin responded to this with a shrug and said: "Everyone can say that their team are stronger, but remember, the score of this game is 0-0.
Shin also revealed that he came to Park for a handshake after the game ended, but the Vietnam head coach turned away.
The door to the finals is still wide open for both teams before the second leg, which will take place on January 9 at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi. Shin affirmed that Indonesia will prepare carefully to achieve the best result possible.
AFF Cup semifinal: Indonesia 0-0 Vietnam