Coach Polking and CAHN are determined to avenge their 0-3 defeat against Tampines Rovers.
The German strategist admitted to management mistakes that led to the risk of CAHN being handed a forfeit loss in the AFC Champions League 2, while also setting the goal of repeating the victory against the Singaporean representative.
Hanoi Police Football Club (CAHN) is facing a dire situation in the AFC Champions League 2. Despite overwhelmingly defeating Tampines Rovers 4-0 on the field in the first leg of the round of 16, the Vietnamese representative now faces the risk of being handed a 0-3 forfeit loss due to violations of player regulations.
Costly personnel mistakes at the continental tournament.
According to ESPN journalist Gabriel Tan, the Police team fielded two ineligible players: Stefan Mauk and Rogerio Alves. Specifically, both had accumulated three yellow cards after the group stage, with the decisive card appearing in the match against Tai Po. According to the league regulations, both should have served their suspensions in the next match against Tampines Rovers.
Notably, in the recent 4-0 victory, Stefan Mauk played the full 90 minutes, while Rogerio Alves played 64 minutes and scored the goal that made it 3-0. Errors in reviewing yellow card penalties are now threatening to completely negate the professional achievements of coach Alexandre Polking's team due to disciplinary action from the organizers.
Strong reaction from coach Alexandre Polking
Faced with a difficult situation, coach Alexandre Polking frankly confronted reality. Speaking to the media, the German strategist did not blame external circumstances but admitted to shortcomings in his team management "abilities." However, instead of being pessimistic, he affirmed his determination to rectify the mistakes through results on the field.
"What we need to do now is fight and beat them again."Coach Polking emphasized that the entire team would put aside the off-field controversies to focus entirely on the away match at Jalan Besar Stadium (Singapore) on February 18th.
The ultimate challenge in Singapore
If the 0-3 forfeit penalty is officially applied, CAHN's task in the second leg will become extremely difficult. To advance, they must win by at least three goals against Tampines Rovers away from home.
The tournament's history has seen Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan) collapse after a similar incident, but with a deep squad and high morale following coach Polking's assurances, fans still expect a spectacular comeback from the Vietnamese representative.
| First leg match statistics | The reality on the pitch | Risk of penalties |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 4-0 | 0-3 |
| The player committed the foul. | Mauk, Alves | The suspension has not yet been served. |
| Second leg objective | Maintain the advantage. | Win by a margin of 3 or more goals. |