Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Hong Kong: Newly-crowned Hong Kong league champions Kitchee are looking to complete a perfect week when the face Singapore champions Tampines Rovers in the AFC Cup on Tuesday where at least a draw would give them top spot in Group H and home advantage for the one-off Round of 16.
Kitchee lifted their third league title in four years on Saturday and coach Chu Chi Kwong’s unbeaten side will be looking to progress into the AFC Cup knockout stage for a third season in a row in some style with the return meeting against the S-League side at Mongkok Stadium.
Chu, who was appointed in November after the departure of Alex Gomez, is keen that his side maintain the successful run they have enjoyed in the continental tournament to guarantee a home tie in the first round of the knockout stages as well as to maintain his players’ momentum.
“Although we are top of the group, we will keep our strategy of winning this match to ensure we have a home fixture in the Round of 16,” said Chu.
“Although we have played very smoothly this season, we don’t want to destroy our luck so we have to keep playing well and winning to maintain our players’ confidence.
“Despite the fact we have a local derby against South China this weekend, we will still put our full attention on the match with Tampines. Our aim is to qualify in first place in the group.”
Although visitors Tampines lie in second in the group, they are only two points ahead of third-placed side Nay Pyi Taw of Myanmar who host bottom side Pune FC of India in the group’s other game.
If the Stags could take home at least a point from their visit to Hong Kong it would give them an advantage when they host the Myanmar side in the group stage’s final round of fixtures in a fortnight.
But to do so Tampines coach Salim Moin will first have the difficult task of dealing with familiar foes who convincingly defeated his side 5-0 in their meeting in Singapore.
“Kitchee is a very good team, but our first meeting was in the early stages of our season. We are now getting stable and are well prepared for tomorrow’s game,” said coach Moin.
“We know them very well having played them a few years ago, and then of course once already this year – it will be an exciting match that we look forward to.”
Nay Pyi Taw coach Myo Hlaing Win knows that their fixture with their Indian visitors Pune is effectively a must-win for his Myanmar team.
If they do not win and Tampines beat Kitchee they will be eliminated from the tournament outright, and even if Tampines are defeated, failing to pick up points at home would put them at severe disadvantage when they travel to face the second-placed side on Matchday Six.
“We need to win tomorrow’s games against Pune because if we don’t, then we might not qualify from the group stage. We don’t want to settle for a draw because that might not be enough,” said Hlaing Win.
“There is some pressure on us but although we don’t have much experience in this competition, we believe in ourselves that we can cope with this situation and beat Pune especially with our main striker Michele Di Peidi available to play in tomorrow’s game.”
Having been eliminated from the 2014 AFC Champions League in their first round of qualifying, Pune will be keen to avoid a similar fate in the AFC Cup but they must beat Nay Pyi Taw to stand any chance of taking matters to the final round of group stage fixtures.
Winless in the tournament so far, Pune did take a point from the Myanmar team in a 2-2 draw in their opening fixture of the competition but they will face elimination from the competition if they do not go one better and win at the Paung Luang Stadium on Tuesday.
But their preparations for the game have not been helped by a long and draining journey to the Myanmar capital after they lost 2-1 to Salgaocar in a league match last Friday.
“We could not prepare well for this game as we had a very long trip to reach Nay Pyi Taw. Overall it was a 22-hour journey,” said coach Mike Snoei.
"Instead of training after our arrival, I gave my team an off because they were very tired. We also played a league game three days ago so to recover they really needed the rest.”