They truly deserve to reach the Southeast Asian semi-finals.

CAHN Club got off to a good start... then made a mistake.

The match against Borneo Samarinda in the final game of the ASEAN Club Championship (Southeast Asian Club Championship) was seen as a walk in the park for CAHN Club. With four previous victories, coach Alexandre Polking's team had already secured a place in the semi-finals as group winners.

Therefore, coach Polking took advantage of the formality of the match to give opportunities to many players who rarely played before, such as Si Huy, Van Toan, and Van Do. With their B team, CAHN Club still controlled the game well. Although it was difficult to coordinate smoothly on the waterlogged and slippery Hang Day pitch, the home team soon found the opening goal.

CAHN Club (in red shirts) played with determination in this meaningless match.

In the 20th minute, Van Do created a beautiful moment when he dribbled the ball into the center and unleashed a decisive left-footed long-range shot, giving Borneo's goalkeeper Nadeo Argawinata no chance to save it.

After the goal, CAHN FC continued to press forward. Coach Polking's players created immense pressure to score another goal and double the lead. However, the wasteful finishing of Van Duc and Dinh Bac caused the home team to miss opportunities. The shots from the Vietnamese representatives were either rushed or lacked the power to beat goalkeeper Nadeo.

Then, Tuan Duong's mistake in the 45+1 minute punished CAHN FC. Despite not being under pressure from the opponent, the young CAHN defender made a weak back pass, gifting Borneo striker Jusuf a chance to face goalkeeper Si Huy. The visiting striker used a clever feint to get past the CAHN defender before calmly placing the ball in to equalize 1-1 for Borneo.

Effort

In the second half, CAHN Club continued to dominate the game. However, unlike the first 45 minutes, the home team's passing combinations were no longer fluid. The slippery pitch, along with a squad of players rarely playing together, became weaknesses, preventing the former V-League champions from putting pressure on Borneo.

CAHN FC had to play more long balls and aerial passes. Against their physically superior Borneo opponents, this tactic proved ineffective for the home team at Hang Day Stadium.

CAHN Club finished the group stage with a perfect winning record.

It wasn't until coach Polking brought on Quang Hai and Leo Artur that CAHN's attack became more promising. In the 75th minute, Quang Hai played a through pass to Artur, who raced down to face goalkeeper Nadeo. Instead of passing to Dinh Bac in a favorable position, Artur chose to shoot himself. Despite the not-too-difficult shot from the foreign player wearing number 10, goalkeeper Nadeo made a diving save for Borneo.

However, Artur quickly "redeemed himself" with Dinh Bac. In the 81st minute, the Brazilian foreign player threaded the ball to the left wing for Dinh Bac to run onto, and the young player born in 2004 then skillfully chipped the ball over Nadeo's control to increase the score to 2-1 for CAHN Club.

Despite conceding an equalizer to Borneo in the 86th minute, CAHN Club demonstrated their resilience by winning 3-2 with a penalty goal from Leo Artur in the 90th minute.

By defeating Borneo FC, CAHN Club finished the Southeast Asian Champions League group stage with a perfect record, securing 15 points. In the semi-finals, Coach Polking's team will face PSM Makassar Club, the runner-up of Group B. The first leg will take place on April 2nd, and the second leg on April 30th.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tro-cu-hlv-troussier-toa-sang-clb-cahn-toan-thang-rat-xung-dang-vao-ban-ket-dong-nam-a-185250206193516692.htm