AFC Champions League: BC Rangers aiming to repair bruised pride in qualifiers, and hope Kitchee know-how can help
- Head coach Henry Vom wants players to make most of opportunity ‘they fought for and earned’
- Vietnamese opponents Haiphong say they are well prepared and know all their rivals’ weaknesses
BC Rangers’ boss Henry Vom Ca-nhum said his side’s Asian Champions League debut against Haiphong on Tuesday would double as an opportunity for the players to repair bruised pride.
Rangers finished the 2022-23 Hong Kong Premier League campaign with six straight victories to pip Kwoon Chung Southern to the final qualification spot for the continental competition.
Elation over that achievement was tempered, however, by the low of an embarrassing 7-1 FA Cup final defeat by Kitchee.
Vom was appointed during the close season and used a hefty proportion of a preseason camp in Thailand to ready his squad for the winner-takes-all preliminary round meeting with fellow new-boys Haiphong.
“The players fought for this opportunity, they finished third and reached the FA Cup final,” Vom said. “They earned this game for the club and for themselves.
“Because of what happened in the FA Cup final, we want to get back our pride. The players want to prove their value, individually and to the club, and to show their standard.”
