JINAN – Shandong Luneng coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic praised the ‘hard work and spirit’ of his players as he watched them overcome visitors FC Seoul 2-0 in a crucial Group F encounter in Jinan on Wednesday.
Second-half goals from Lu Zheng and Han Peng were enough to secure all three points for the hosts, who move onto six points to trail group leaders and defending champions Gamba Osaka by three.
Tumbakovic admitted he was warry of the threat posed by ‘a very good’ Seoul team, and that his players had to deliver a good performance to win.
“Before this match, we looked closely at Seoul,” he said.
“They are a very good team, as was shown in their performance against Gamba Osaka.
“Although they lost that game, they showed some of the special qualities needed in this tournament.”
Tumbakovic added that a strong spirit within his squad had played a key role, especially as Shandong were without several key players due to injury, including Serbian striker Miljan Mrdakovic who was in the stands for today’s game.
Tumbakovic was able to recall midfielder Wang Yongpo to his starting line-up, but the injury-prone playmaker was substituted along with Li Jinyu early in the second-half.
The Serbian coach added that his players responded well to a disappointing recent run of results that culminated in a 4-1 defeat to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League last Friday.
“We worked well today, and the result was the product of hard work and spirit,” he added.
“Prior to today’s match, it was important to encourage our players a lot. As you all saw, the players worked very, very hard and played attractive football today. It was a very good win, absolutely.”
FC Seoul coach Senol Gunes was, unsurprisingly, less satisfied with the match.
The result leaves his side in third place on three points, with their only victory coming against Indonesian side Sriwijaya, who are rooted to the bottom of the standings.
“The quality of today’s match was not very good. Neither team played very well,” said the Turkish coach, who has been in charge of FC Seoul since 2006.
Seoul host Shandong in the fourth round of group games on April 21, and Gunes said he expects a better showing at home.
“The teams didn’t play well, and the next game is coming soon. We hope for an improvement by then,” he added.
