AFC Champions League Two - Vickery revels in Macarthur win; Polking’s tinkering does the trick for Cong An Ha Noi

Sydney: Luke Vickery was thrilled to have stolen the spotlight at Campbelltown Stadium, scoring a brace to secure a thrilling 2-1 victory over Tai Po FC to ensure Macarthur FC’s progression to the AFC Champions League Two™ 2025/26 Knockout Stages on Thursday.

The 20-year-old came off the bench, levelled the score in the 50th minute and netted again 20 minutes later from inside the box to seal Macarthur’s come-from-behind-win.

#ACLTwo | Group E: Macarthur FC (AUS) 2-1 Tai Po FC (HKG)

“It’s a great feeling, not just personally but for the club as well. As a team we’ve been building towards this for weeks – even before I arrived. So it’s fantastic to finally see all the work we’ve been putting in, day in and day out on the training pitch, come to fruition and to secure our place in the next stage,” said Vickery.

Macarthur head coach Mile Sterjovski praised his squad’s resilience.

“I'm super proud of the players. It's been a good journey so far and one that we want to continue. I'm just proud of the boys with the effort they've put in, especially getting a goal behind tonight. To come back and win the game was a superb effort,” said Sterjovski.

“We didn't want it (concede early) to happen again. The way the game started, I felt like it was going to happen. Credit to the boys, especially in the second half, they turned it around and had a lot more energy. A lot more forward thought and put a lot more pressure on. We got the victory in the end.”

#ACLTwo | Group E: Cong An Ha Noi FC (VIE) 2-1 Beijing FC (CHN)

Cong An Ha Noi FC also produced a fighting performance to secure their spot in the Round of 16.

The Vietnamese side overturned Lin Liangming’s 11th minute opener with late goals from Stefan Mauk and Nguyen Dình Bac to cap a fine second half performance.

Head coach Alexandre Polking attributed the win to the changes he made in the second half with Nguyen Dình Bac taking on a more central role.

“I think we didn’t have a good first half, especially in the way we developed the ball. Beijing FC put a lot of pressure on us, causing us to concede a goal from a mistake. But after that, the team still tried to maintain their style of play even though they couldn’t escape the pressure really well,” said Polking

“During the break, we adjusted and talked to each other. Of course, Nguyen Dình Bac moving inside helped the team a lot with his runs. I believe we started to control the game clearly.”

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Group E: Cong An Ha Noi FC (VIE) 2-1 Beijing FC (CHN)

Group E: Macarthur FC (AUS) 2-1 Tai Po FC (HKG)

Group A: Argentina 5-1 Philippines