Our tactics neutralized the ‘Police’ – Herbert Addo

Hearts Of Oak Head Coach Herbert Addo says he got his game plan right in the 0-0 draw with A.S Police in the CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round on Saturday in Cotonou, Benin.

Addo’s side advanced to the next stage of the competition on a 1-0 aggregate, after securing a 1-0 victory in the home game two weeks ago.

He told the media after the game that he was optimistic Stanislas Akele’s side would play an attacking game, so he strategized to neutralize their plan, adding that it was not an easy task because his opponents were equally skillful and aggressive on the ball.

"Well, I think I saw what I expected. I expected them to play an attacking game. They are very quick and aggressive. The players were aware of what was going to happen. I decided to mark their two attackers out of the game, which wasn’t easy.

"They also had good midfielders but we had some aggressive players in the middle. I realized that their strategy to attack us was working, but our strategy neutralized them. You could see they didn’t have any chance to score apart from the penalty.’’

The experienced trainer expressed satisfaction with his players’ performance although they squandered numerous opportunities that came their way, noting that his main aim was to qualify, adding that he hopes his side goes far in the competition.

"I think my players did well. We could have done better in attack because we made several attempts in attack but we couldn’t score. That is football. My main aim was to qualify. The score was a fair result. I hope we will go far.’’ Hearts Of Oak will meet Olympique de Ngor of Senegal in the next round of the competition.