Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
The identity of the top two teams in Group F of the AFC Cup may already have been decided but there will still be plenty to play for in the final round of group games on Wednesday as both Yangon United of Myanmar and New Radiant of the Maldives battle it out for top spot.
The stakes are fairly high as the winners will host Group H runners-up Selangor of Malaysia in a one-off game in the Round of 16 while the runners-up must travel to India to take on Group H winners East Bengal.
Heading into their last games in the group, both teams are tied on 12 points and It is Yangon United who hold the tie-breaker edge over their rivals. Both teams have cancelled each out in their head-to-head records and on goal difference but the Myanmar club have scored two goals more than their rivals.
However, they have arguably the tougher of the two matches on Wednesday as they host Hong Kong side Sun Hei at the Youth Training Centre while New Radiant welcome Indonesia’s Persibo to the Male National Stadium.
Despite the importance of the game, Yangon United coach Ivan Kolev is still prepared to give his young players an opportunity to play against the Hong Kong club.
“Whoever the players are, Yangon will play for best result,” said Kolev. “In our present condition, we intend to play the game with younger players without using our key players."
“I will let some key players get a rest so that they can recover from their minor injuries. We wish to go to the next stage as group winners but we will wait and see the result of New Radiant’s match against Persibo which is very important for us.
Sun Hei have yet to win on their travels this season and coach Chan Fat Chi does not expect things to get any easier in Myanmar.
“Yangon United are a really strong team and this is an away game for us so it is going to be very difficult game for us,” said Chan. “But we will fight as much as we can for our pride because the result is not too important for our club.”
New Radiant trounced Persibo 7-0 in Indonesia in March and they are expected to record another emphatic win against a club that has leaked 28 goals so far.
Cash-strapped Persibo did not even arrive in the Maldives until Tuesday night and so there was no pre-match press conference on the eve of the match.