Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kota Bharu: Hong Kong side Kitchee reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup for the first time as a pair of first-half goals saw them stun hosts Kelantan 2-0 at the Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium on Tuesday.
The visitors had the better of the first half against their lacklustre hosts and they were rewarded as an own goal by Lek Kcira after 15 minutes and a superb strike by Jordi Tarres in stoppage time just before the interval put them firmly in control.
The Malaysian treble winners improved after the break but the closest they came to finding their way back into the match were a couple of efforts that were rightly disallowed for offside.
“I am very happy because this is a big moment for the team and they all played well tonight from defence to midfield to attack,” said Kitchee coach Josep Gombau.
“Kelantan are a very good team as they proved by reaching the last 16 for the second time in two years but we have also improved. We have been building this team for four years and every day we are improving so I am very satisfied with them.
“We did not expect to win 2-0 but the players followed their instructions and we played as we had planned.”
Kelantan were unbeaten in their previous seven AFC Cup games in Kota Bharu but the visitors showed little concern for the good home form of their opponents as they dominated proceedings in the opening minutes.
They went close to opening the scoring as early as the fourth minute when Pablo Counago’s cut back from the right found a late-arriving Chu Siu Kei, whose attempt from the edge of the box was tipped over by Kelantan goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi.
The Red Warriors custodian was called into action again in the 14th minute when Tarres received the ball from Cheng Siu Wai on the left of the Kelantan box and unleashed a shot from a narrow angle that Khairul Fahmi again turned over his crossbar.
The warning signs were there and so it was no real surprise when the visitors went ahead in the 16th minute. A long ball by Zesh Rahman found Lo Kwan Yee unmarked on the right flank and he swung over an early cross which Kcira tried to cut off before it could reach Counago only to turn the ball into his own net.
Kelantan struggled to find their rhythm in the first half with their forays into the Kitchee half regularly breaking down as a result of misplaced passes or wayward finishing.
And they found themselves further behind just before half-time when they were caught ball-watching as Cheng Kin Fung sent over a cross from the left which travelled all the way to the far post where Tarres escaped his marker to send an over-the-shoulder volley crashing past a helpless Khairul Fahmi.
Dickson Nwakaeme was brought on to replace Faiz Subri at half-time and the introduction of the Nigerian striker did add some much needed bite to the Kelantan attack early in the second half.
Nwakaeme seemed to have helped his side back into the game in the 63rd minute when he flicked the ball on for Nor Farhan Muhammad to put the ball into the net only for the effort to be ruled out as Nor Farhan was in an offside position.
Nwakaeme then found himself caught out by an offside flag eight minutes later when he bundled the ball home after it had struck a post.
Kelantan became increasingly desperate as the game wore on and they were nearly exposed for a third goal nine minutes from time when Tarres was sent clear by Counago’s through pass but dragged his shot narrowly wide.
However, the visitors had already done enough as they sealed their place in the last eight in coach Josep Gombau’s final AFC Cup match with the club before he leaves to manage 2008 AFC Champions League runners-up Adelaide United.
Kelantan coach Bojan Hodak felt that his team might have done better if not for defensive errors that contributed to Kitchee’s two goals
“We played well in the first half but two mistakes allowed Kitchee to score and they held the ball and controlled the game well after that,” said the Croatian.
“We needed to get a goal back early in the second half and we didn’t manage to do that and then they controlled the ground ball and they deserved to win the game."
Photo: WSG