Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hong Kong: Kitchee qualified for the knockout stages of the AFC Cup in second place in Group F after sharing a 2-2 draw with Kingfisher East Bengal at Mong Kok Stadium on Tuesday night.
Lam Ka Wai opened the scoring for the home side with a nifty volley in the 14th minute, and then Xu Deshuai doubled the lead on 58 minutes with a curling left foot drive.
But Ranti Martins then pulled one back for East Bengal with ten minutes remaining before the visitors equalised through Cavin Lobo in the last minute.
Johor Darul Ta'zim of Malaysia defeated Balestier Khalsa of Singapore 3-0 in Tuesday’s other Group F game to finish in poll position and will have home advantage in the one-legged Round of 16 tie to come in a fortnight’s time, while Kitchee, as second placed side, will face an away tie in their knockout stage clash.
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“We had a good match for 80 minutes and could have scored five or six goals, but in the last ten minutes we gave some presents away and that’s not what a competitive team can do,” said Kitchee coach Jose Molina.
“I don’t know if we lost focus but we were not good enough in that final ten minutes. We can beat anyone if we concentrate for 90 minutes.”
Kitchee had the first chance after just ten minutes. Leung Ka Hai robbed East Bengal left-back Robert Lalthlamuana on the right hand side of the away box and fed the ball to Cheung Kin Fung in the center. The 31-year-old’s rasping left foot shot looked destined for the bottom corner but keeper Abhijit Mondal managed to keep it out at full stretch.
But Mondal was picking the ball out of his net just five minutes later. Jordi Tarres picked up possession on the right wing and looked to cut inside. The Barcelona-born winger wormed past several defenders and his eventual blocked shot looped up to Lam on the edge of the six-yard box. The Kitchee captain controlled well on his chest with his back to goal before swivelling and shooting smartly past Mondal.
East Bengal looked to hit straight back and had a chance to equalise on 25 minutes when Dudu Omagbemi was put clean through, but Kitchee keeper Guo Jianqiao was out smartly to save at the feet of the advancing Nigerian striker.
And it wasn’t long after the break that Kitchee extended their lead. Xu cut inside from the right wing and unleashed a powerful left foot drive from outside the area that arrowed into the bottom right corner of Mondal's net with the keeper left rooted to the spot.
The game was now very open and both sides had decent chances. Midfielder Harmanjot Khabra almost pulled one back for the visitors with a thunderous drive that stung the fingertips of Guo on 66 minutes, and then Belencoso hit the post for Kitchee on 72 minutes after rushing clear through on goal.
But a disastrous final ten minutes beckoned for the home side. East Bengal first pulled one back on 80 minutes when Spanish stopper Fernando Recio, who had just returned to the starting lineup after injury, got caught dawdling in possession in his own box and Martins slammed the ball home.
And it was more slack defending in the 89th minute that cost Kitchee the win. Midfielder Lobo pounced on a poor headed clearance to slam the ball past the despairing Guo.
“On the second half performance I have to give my team a lot of compliments,” said East Bengal’s Dutch head coach Eelco Schattorie.
“I made some offensive changes and took some risks that paid off. Both goals had their origin in the left back possession and were due to bad defending. But after that I made some changes and go all out.
“When the Kitchee tempo was a bit higher it caused us problems. But the big positive was the mental strength today to come back from 2-0.”
Photo: WSG