SHANDONG: Shandong Luneng manager Ljubisa Tumbakovic believes the 5-0 victory over Indonesians Sriwijaya on Tuesday will mark a turning point for his side in their Group H campaign.
The Chinese champions were determined to redeem themselves at Shandong Sports Centre Stadium after being comprehensively outclassed by Gamba Osaka 3-0 away in their opening contest last week and they eased to victory over the Indonesian double winners with two goals apiece from Li Jinyu and substitute Miljan Mrdakovic as well as a Han Peng strike.
“It was a much-needed win,” said the Serbian coach. “The result is a fair one since we dominated the game from the beginning to the end.
“But we were still making mistakes during the match. Some players were not entirely sticking to my plan for some periods.
“I know my players were under pressure before they entered into the game and that nervousness prevented them from playing their best football.
“We can still play better in the coming games and it will take some time before we find out best form.”
Han made a scoring return to the starting line-up and afterwards turned his attention towards taking on FC Seoul at home on April 8.
“FC Seoul are the strongest team in the group,” he said.
“But we’ll play them at home and we are going to give everything to get maximum points and gain a better position in our qualification campaign.”
Han also conceded he is still not fully fit as he makes his comeback from injury.
“I am not 100 per cent recovered yet but I am getting better and better,” the Chinese international added.
Sriwijaya coach Rahmad Darmawan, meanwhile, lamented a poor defensive performance from his side although he conceded Han was a constant thorn in the Indonesians' side.
“Our defence was very bad,” he said.
“Shandong did a good job at dominating in midfield and their forward Han Peng displayed very good ball control and dribbling ability. He caused a lot of trouble for our defenders.”
