CAHN Club suffers a painful defeat.
After three months, coach Alexandre Polking and his team suffered another bitter defeat in Thailand. On the evening of August 20th, in the first match of Group A of the 2025-2026 Southeast Asian Champions League, CAHN Club had a challenging away game against BG Pathum United, a top team in Thailand.
The opening minutes of the match clearly demonstrated this. With the home advantage and a quality squad (expensive foreign players along with Thai national team players like Buaphan, Yooyen, Panya, and Jaroensak), BG Pathum United created a dominant game from the start. After 10 minutes, the Thai team had more possession and created 4 shots on goal. However, CAHN Club defended resolutely. The three central defenders, Adou Minh, Hugo Gomes, and Viet Anh, read the situations and covered for each other well to keep goalkeeper Nguyen Filip's goal safe.
Quang Hai and his teammates played with a man advantage but still suffered a defeat.
PHOTO: CAHN CLUB
After that, CAHN FC found their rhythm better, and the game gradually shifted. The visiting team constantly created dangerous situations with sharp transitions from defense to attack, thanks to the courageous, even somewhat reckless, personnel choices of coach Polking. When Cao Pendant Quang Vinh was injured, Polking did not use another left-back to replace him but placed his trust in Dinh Bac. On the opposite flank, he trusted Van Do instead of the more experienced Van Thanh. The abundant energy and flexibility of these two young players gave their senior teammates more time and space to control the ball. In the opening goal in the 20th minute, Dinh Bac pushed high up the field, creating an opportunity for Leo Atur to drop deep, receive the ball, and then deliver a clever through pass for Alan Grafite to run down and finish into the net.
Furthermore, coach Polking allowed center-back Hugo Gomes to press high to win the ball back and organize counter-attacks in the opponent's half. The foreign player was even willing to penetrate the opponent's penalty area. The aggressive and bold style of play adopted by CAHN FC caused BG Pathum United a great deal of difficulty. If goalkeeper Bogdanovic hadn't been outstanding, the visitors could have been leading by 4-5 goals after the first 45 minutes.
CAHN FC's bravery was further demonstrated in the challenge involving Viet Anh. The 1999-born center-back readily rushed out to head the ball right in front of the opponent's feet, accepting the risk of bleeding to ensure the safety of his team's goal. The "reward" for this save was that striker Matheus was sent off for a high-footed foul, leaving the home team BG Pathum United with only 10 players from the 43rd minute onwards.
With nothing left to lose, BG Pathum United brought Chanathip Songkrasin onto the field in the second half. The Thai national team midfielder immediately showcased his class with a burst of speed and skillful dribbling, beating Nguyen Filip with a decisive shot into the near corner, leveling the score at 1-1 in the 58th minute. Chanathip's goal made it much more difficult for CAHN FC to play. With a man advantage, Coach Polking's players were under immense pressure to win. As a result, Quang Hai and his teammates played rather hastily, often making mistakes in crucial situations. CAHN FC couldn't even hold onto a point when, in the 90+7th minute, Chanathip once again demonstrated his star quality with a lob from midfield, securing a 2-1 victory for BG Pathum United. This result will put CAHN FC in a very difficult position in the race for a place in the semi-finals, as Group A is considered the "group of death" with other strong opponents such as Buriram United and Selangor FC.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thai-lan-van-la-manh-dat-du-voi-clb-cahn-185250820221800077.htm
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