AFC Asian Cup 2019 play-offs: Chinese Taipei v Timor-Leste preview

In a closely fought first leg on Saturday, Imai’s side recovered from Rufino Walter Gama handing Timor Leste a fifth minute lead as two first-half goals from Wu Chun-ching turned the tie in Chinese Taipei’s favour.

And with the winner earning a place in the final round of group stage qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates, Imai is keen on his side extending their current four-match win streak back at the National Stadium in Kaohsiung City.

“I was not satisfied with the way we played in the last game because the difference between what we showed in training and in the match was considerable,” said Imai, who is considering changes to his side.

“We will do what we always try to do in our games and that is to attack. It will be the same in tomorrow’s game too. We will look to play on the front foot and to score more goals.”

Last week’s defeat saw Timor-Leste extend their losing streak to eight games, but having taken the lead in the first leg and finished strongly despite letting slip their advantage, Fernando Alcantara’s side are still firmly in the tie.

“I am proud of my players’ performance in the first game,” said Alcantara. “But we did make a few mistakes, including for the two goals we conceded.

“We know we can do better, but we have to be more organised. There is 90 minutes of the tie to go and I am confident my team can get a result.”

Both Nataniel de Jesus Reis and goalscorer Rufino, who netted Timor-Leste’s first goal in exactly a year with his low drive from the edge of the penalty area, had second-half chances for Timor-Leste in the first leg.

“We did not expect (midfielder) Chen Po-liang to come out and take the ball so much. We made some changes to counter this during the last game, and as a result we controlled the second half much more,” added Alcantara.

“This is something we will look to deal with better in this game.”