Football: Kitchee coach rebuffs Mong Kok switch after another AFC Champions League loss at Hong Kong Stadium
- Kitchee interim boss Kim Dong-jin admits Champions League progress unlikely after Bangkok defeat, but promises team will not throw in towel
- Match was played in front of just 2,259 supporters inside cavernous So Kon Po venue but Kim says ‘they were fully behind our team’
Interim head coach Kim Dong-jin vowed Kitchee would “fight to the end” of their AFC Champions League campaign, despite their slim hopes of progress to the round of 16.
The Hong Kong champions were beaten by Bangkok United on Wednesday and have lost all three group F matches.
Kitchee have won only two of their past seven games in all competitions, but there were signs of Kim’s team recovering their mojo for large parts of the clash with Bangkok, when two fatal defensive lapses undermined a bright, purposeful display.
The reverse fixture is in Thailand in two weeks. Kitchee host Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on November 29, and a fortnight later complete their group programme against Lion City Sailors in Singapore.
“To be honest, with no points from the first round of matches, it is difficult to qualify for the next stage,” Kim told the Post.
“But we will not give up … playing in the Champions League is a privilege, it is special for the players, and it is the same for me.
“We have to make the most of the opportunity, we will give as much as possible to deliver good performances and fight until the end.”
Kitchee initially produced a stirring response to the grim disappointment of losing at home to Lion City, on paper their weakest group opponents, three weeks ago.
Bangkok were visibly ruffled during a breathless opening, and Jakob Jantscher scored for the second successive Champions League game after only seven minutes.
The Thai team owed a debt to sloppy Kitchee defending for the two goals, either side of half-time, that turned the game on its head.
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The home fans roared on their team, and sustained their backing until the final whistle, as Kitchee desperately threw everything at trying to draw level.
For all the partisan support, however, there were 2,259 people inside the cavernous Hong Kong Stadium – inviting the question of whether Kitchee would be better served playing at the compact Mong Kok Stadium, with the aim of creating a febrile, intimidating atmosphere.
“I have not thought about that,” Kim said. “The fans were fully behind our team. We did not deliver what they wanted, but for 90 minutes they supported the players.
“I hope they continue coming to the stadium, and continue supporting our players.”
High-profile summer signing Ogenyi Onazi was absent from Kitchee’s squad, but the former Lazio midfielder had no fitness issues, according to Kim.
“He is OK. I made the decision I felt was right for the team,” Kim said.
The South Korean, who was taking charge of his fourth match, does not expect to have the injured forward pair of Juninho and Kim Shin-wook available for Sunday’s home game against Sham Shui Po, but is anticipating both players “joining the team for training next week”.
A meeting with the Premier League’s bottom team – Kitchee’s first league date since September 24 – is unlikely to offer Kim any definitive guide over his team’s direction of travel.
He noted a considerable uptick in performance against Bangkok, from the desperate showing in defeat by Lion City, however.
“In the first half, we were very organised and created chances,” he said. “We tried to impose our style of play, to bounce back from the Lion City game.
“This was totally different, we could not win, but I liked our play and I am so satisfied.”
