Heavy blow to BG Tampines Rovers’ AFC Champions League Two hopes after 4-0 loss to Cong An Ha Noi

SINGAPORE – Still smarting from last week’s 6-1 trouncing by Vietnam’s Cong An Ha Noi in the Asean Club Championship, BG Tampines Rovers were hoping to make things right when both sides met in Vietnam again on Feb 11.

But it was deja vu as the Hanoi side repeated their dominant display, this time winning 4-0 in the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two (ACL2) round of 16, first leg at the Hang Day Stadium.

A first-half brace from the hosts’ captain Nguyen Quang Hai and goals from Rogerio Santos and substitute Nguyen Dinh Bac gave the Vietnamese side a comfortable cushion to take to the Jalan Besar Stadium for the return leg on Feb 18.

Tampines’ Maltese forward Trent Buhagiar, who noted some positives, said: “We started well in the first 10-15 minutes, but once we conceded the first goal, we kind of dropped in tempo and they scored the three quick goals.

“Coming into the second half, we were better, had more control of the game and were able to create chances.

“But we were unable to capitalise on these chances and ultimately they scored the fourth goal which makes it difficult for us next week.”

The Singapore Premier League side made just one change to the starting XI that lost 6-1 to the same opponents a week ago – replacing Irfan Najeeb with Raoul Suhaimi in defence.

The hosts, meanwhile made eight changes, with only Santos, Hugo Gomes and Vitao Nascimento keeping their spots, while the likes of Czech-born goalkeeper Filip Nguyen and national team star Quang Hai returned to the starting XI.

The Stags started brightly as they looked for an early breakthrough with their one-touch passes.

It was the hosts who drew first blood in the 24th minute, however. A long-range effort from Leo Artur was parried by Stags custodian Syazwan Buhari, but the ball fell to Quang Hai, who slotted home the opener.

A shell-shocked Tampines conceded again three minutes later as Artur once again found Quang Hai, who shimmied past Shuya Yamashita to slot home his second.

The hosts nearly added a third in the 29th minute as Bui Hoang Viet Anh found an unmarked Santos, whose header flew just past the post.

A poor defensive header from Dylan Fox in the 37th minute then saw Santos capitalise to smash past Syazwan from close range despite an initial save.

The gulf in quality between the two sides was apparent as the Vietnamese hosts launched wave after wave of attacks, peppering the Tampines goal with 20 shots in the first half, with seven on target.

The Stags’ best chance to score came in the 58th minute as Hide Higashikawa found Buhagiar, who raced through on goal, but the latter launched his shot over the bar with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Substitute Dinh Bac then added the icing on the cake as he curled home their fourth in stoppage time.

Tampines are the only Singaporean side left in the competition, having qualified for the ACL2 knockout stage after finishing top of Group H with five wins and one draw, while the Vietnamese team qualified second from Group E, behind Australian team Macarthur FC.

Tampines coach Noh Rahman rued their lax defending as their bright start came undone.

He added: “A little disappointing how we defended. We gave them too much space and at this level, where abilities of the individual players are very high, you’ll get punished.

“We created good chances in the second half to try and get a goal back to shift the momentum of the game.

“The return leg would be tough, but football can be unpredictable. We just have to stay positive.”

Buhagiar is also refusing to throw in the towel.

He said: “We are not out yet and we are looking to pull a huge upset at Jalan Besar.”