Coach Polking only cited reasons for CAHN dropping points against Macarthur

CAHN unfortunately lost 3 points despite outperforming Macarthur for most of the match.

CAHN hosted Macarthur at home in the third round of the AFC Champions League Two on the evening of October 23, with the sole aim of securing all 3 points. Their opponent was in poor form, and CAHN needed a win to maintain top spot and secure early qualification to the knockout stage.

Playing at home and starting stronger, CAHN took the lead early thanks to a goal by Lê Văn Đô in the 30th minute. The Police team dominated the majority of the game before unexpectedly conceding an equalizer in the 76th minute from a header originating from a corner kick.

Wasting the chance to claim 3 points on home turf, CAHN retained top position but failed to extend the gap over their closest rivals. In the post-match press conference, head coach Mano Polking openly addressed CAHN’s shortcomings in this regrettable draw.

"As I mentioned in the pre-match press conference, this was a very important game and we needed to win to gain an advantage to advance from the group. However, CAHN squandered the opportunity. The team had prepared for the opponent’s set pieces and understood the threat, yet still conceded a goal.

Today’s match wasn’t about missing too many chances, although we created several scoring opportunities. The issue was that sometimes we lost control of the game. Especially after conceding, our ability to manage the match declined, resulting in a draw.

Nevertheless, we must move forward and focus on the return leg in Australia with the goal of winning", Coach Polking shared.

In the next round, CAHN will travel to Australia to face Macarthur as the away team. The Vietnamese representative needs a victory to maintain top spot and secure early qualification in the AFC Cup 2.