Football

HÀ NỘI — Following a series of draws, Hà Nội FC are determined to beat Tampines Rovers of Singapore in the third match of Group G of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

The match will take place at 6pm today at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hà Nội.

The hosts, V.League defending champions Hà Nội, have had six draws in a row, with four in the national premier league and two in the AFC Cup.

They are in third place in the Cup, while the visitors rank second with one win and one loss.

According to coach Chu Đình Nghiêm, the club will try their best for a win in the upcoming match to boost the morale of the team, with the services of good players such as Hoàng Vũ Samson, Gonzalo Damian Marronkle, Nguyễn Văn Quyết, and Phạm Thành Lương.

Captain Marronkle recently returned from injury and his playmaking skills will be essential for Hà Nội to end their run of draws.

“We will make changes in our way of playing to get three points,” Nghiêm said.

Meanwhile, Tampines are also looking to get back on track following a demoralising 5-0 defeat against Ceres-Negros in the second group game. Although they are still at second spot with three points, Hà Nội trail by just a point after being held to 1-1 draws in their respective games so far.

Tampines can also call up their AFC Cup duo of Raspreet Sandhu and Sahil Suhaimi.

Both players have not seen much action, but coach Juergen Raab might be inclined to give them more playing time and give his key players some rest, especially since this will be the Tampines’ fourth game in 12 days.

Shahdan Sulaiman appears to have recovered from his calf injury after being made to sit on the bench against Balestier and his presence will inject the much-needed creativity into Raab’s side. Hà Nội tied with Tampines 1-1 in an AFC Cup fixture in 2011. — VNS