AFC Champions League Two - Skibee’s second half tinkering pays off for Sanfrecce

Nam Dinh: Sanfrecce Hiroshima head coach Michael Skibee was proud of his charges following their 3-0 win over Vietnam’s Nam Dinh in the first leg of their AFC Champions League Two™ 2024/25 Round of 16 tie on Wednesday.

Nam Dinh held their own for the opening 45 minutes before Sanfrecce turned on the power in the second half with goals from Sota Nakamura, Satoshi Tanaka and Sota Koshimichi to give the Japanese an overwhelming advantage going into the return leg.

The introduction of Koshimichi and Nakamura in the second half paid off handsomely for Skibee, who took advantage of Nam Dinh’s fatigue.

#ACLTwo | R16, 1st Leg: Nam Dinh FC (VIE) 0-3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN)

"I’m very happy with the performance from the beginning to the end. We deserved this victory. In the first half, all the players did an excellent job,” said Skibee.

“The key moment was in the second half. Nam Dinh were getting tired, and we had space to attack. We managed to score the goals.”

Nam Dinh head coach Vu Hong Viet knows his team have a mountain to climb when they travel to Hiroshima on Wednesday.

“The players approached the game very well and we had a disciplined performance in the first half but the first goal disrupted our concentration and that allowed Sanfrecce to capitalise on our mistakes,” said Vu.

“We still have a chance of advancing into the next round and we will fight until the end when we play Sanfrecce in the return leg.”

Skibee’s second half tinkering pays off for Sanfrecce

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