Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hong Kong: Goals from Law Hiu Chung and Chan Siu Ki secured South China their first points of the 2016 AFC Cup with a 2-0 victory over Maldives side Maziya Sports & Recreation to end a three-game losing streak in Group G on Wednesday. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
At a rain-soaked Mongkok Stadium, midfielder Law put the Hong Kong side in front 10 minutes before the interval before striker Chan added a second on 42 minutes.
Maziya rallied in the final quarter of the game, but South China did enough to pick up the long-awaited win to belatedly kickstart their continental campaign.
“The players played really well in the first half, as we attacked and did not give them a chance to play the game,” said South China coach Ricardo Rambo.
“Normally if you’re winning 2-0 you try to control the match, but we created even more chances and tried to get a better result.
“We got a lot of important games to come. The most important is to bring the attitude we saw in the first half, the attacking mentality and the determination to win the match.”
Having lost all three previous group stage matches, the Hong Kong team was quicker off the blocks and created some early chances. Three of those fell to Chan, whose long ball from the left flank dipped dangerously and nearly found the back of the net as early as the fifth minute before being palmed over the bar by Maziya goalkeeper Mohamed Imran.
Chan had two more chances on goal in quick succession less than a minute later, with his powerful shot from teammate Che Runqiu’s cross deflected wide and his header from the resulting corner saved off the line.
But it was Law who finally broke the deadlock in the 35th minute as the Hong Kong midfielder pounced on a loose ball to calmly slot home from close range and spark wild celebrations among his team and their fans in attendance.
Chan managed to get his name on the scoresheet seven minutes later, after getting on the end of a long throw from the right side by Che Runqiu and curling a powerful left-footed shot past the keeper on the turn, giving his team a two-goal cushion at the halftime whistle.
The second half started much like the first, with the home side dominating and creating several more chances.
Awal forced Imran into action in the 47th minute, shortly before his attacking partner Lam Hok Hei rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot after Che found him open at the top of the box.
And Lam hit the woodwork again soon after, with his header from Chan’s flighted cross bouncing off the left-side post.
Maziya struggled to create chances with South China able to see out the remainder of the game in some comfort and secure a priceless lifeline in Group G.
“They played a good match and they deserved this win. The condition for our players was not so good,” said Maziya coach Ali Suzain.
“We are a team that attacks from the side and we can only attack from the sides in passing conditions.
“In Male we attacked from the sides but here we couldn’t get the chance to play that ball.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports