VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam's Song Lam Nghe An will face an extra challenge when they play Persipura Jayapura of Indonesia in the quarter-final round of the Asian Football Confederation Cup at Vinh Stadium today, May 25.


Main man: Song Lam Nghe An's Nguyen Ngoc Anh (left) will play in the AFC Champions League quarter-final today. (Photo: VNS)
The former V-League champions lost their key striker Kavin Bryan four days ago when the Jamaican suffered a broken leg during their game against Dong Tam Long An.


With Bryan needing about two months to recover, coach Nguyen Huu Thang will have has to find a suitable substitute not only for today's match but also for at least four domestic league games.


To make matters worse, midfielder Van Binh who has played a major role in the team's success is out through injury while Hoang Thinh has been sidelined after collecting three yellow cards.


"These are regrettable losses. Our power will be definitely affected but I still believe that the substitutes will do their best to complete their task," Thang said.


Thang who fielded a second-string team for his team's previous games will now strengthen the line-up with several first choice players including national players Nguyen Trong Hoang, Nguyen Huy Hoang, Quang Tinh and Dinh Dong.


Song Lam Nghe An are the second team from Viet Nam to reach the last 16 of the AFC Cup's after Becamex Binh Duong achieved the feat two years ago. Becamex Binh Duong went on to make the semi-finals.


Song Lam Nghe An who top the V-League after 15 rounds need a victory to level the record especially when they play at home under thousand aggressive fans.


"I have almost no idea about our rival who finished second in group H in the preliminary round," said Thang. "But in this match we play at home and it doesn't matter who the rival is and how strong they are we will definitely defeat them to enter the semis."


Persipura Jayapura lead Indonesia's Super Lige after 22 rounds. One of their stars is the Indonesian national team player Boaz Solossa. The star striker netted twice against Viet Nam at Ha Noi's My Dinh Stadium during the 2004 Tiger Cup, which is now known as the AFF Suzuki Cup.


The Indonesian team want to keep their line-up secret until the last possible minute. They only submitted their player list to organisers two days ago and delayed their arrival in Viet Nam until yesterday, leaving just one day to practise before the big game.


VietNamNet/Viet Nam News