AFTER starting the MNL Cup brightly with a 1-1 draw against Magway FC, Delta United’s hopes of making the July 5 final were all but extinguished on June 9 with their third straight defeat.

Their latest loss came at the hands of high-flying Yadanarbon FC, who got the three points through a 57th minute Tun Tun Win penalty after defender Kambou Ollo was fouled by the Delta defence.

In an evenly matched contest, Delta took the game to their opponents and could feel slightly unlucky to leave Aung San Stadium with at least a point.

“It’s now impossible for us to reach the final after this loss,” Delta head coach U San Win conceded after the game. “Although we lost, I thought our attacking play was strong – we were just weak in finishing off the chances we created.”

Another problem for Delta has been the performances of their Argentinean trio – defender Leon was left on the bench for this match and midfielder Fernando seemed to be struggling with a foot injury from the kick off.

Rodrigo has without doubt been the brightest of the three but, as in previous weeks, he played a lone hand up forward against Yadanarbon. He worked hard and was thwarted several times by keeper Zaw Lin Aung and some desperate defending.

After a poor first half, Yadanarbon defender Kambou Ollo’s work down the left flank in the second period created many of Yadanarbon’s chances and he frequently combined with striker Yan Paing to good effect.

It was the Ivorian Kambou who, in the 57th minute, won the penalty that Tun Tun Win converted. The goal was enough to give Yadanarbon an important victory and the Mandalay side remains equal top with Magway FC, who also won 1-0 last week, on 10 points. Yadanarbon coach Yoan Girard said he was pleased with both the performance and the result against Delta.

“My team is playing better and better each week. But I think, if we are to reach the final, we will need at least 15 points,” Mr Girard said.

In the stands: how the fans saw the match

Yadanarbon FC Ko Aung Phyo Kyaw, 20 Marketing staff Because of the combination of local players and foreign players, I think my team can play better and better as they get more experience together. In today’s match, I was impressed by their performance in defence and midfield but not up front. We always seems to win matches by a narrow margin – one goal, maybe two goals – I think they should try harder to score more. We were also a bit weak down the left flank in this match – we allowed Delta to attack down that side too often.

Delta United FC Ko Sithu, 29 Commodity seller My side’s loss was because of our midfield, they just couldn’t match it with Yadanarbon’s players. The performance of the Argentinean players was also disappointing – they still haven’t combined well with their teammates. But I think the forward, Rodrigo, he played really well as a solo player. I don’t want to criticise the players’ performance though, they still played okay despite the loss. But they certainly need more team unity.