Kitchee hit for six in AFC Cup - Hong Kong champions thrashed by Kuwait SC
Kuwaitis take strong grip on their quarter-final with a 6-0 first-leg victory
Hong Kong champions Kitchee have all but kissed their contintinental hopes goodbye after a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Kuwait SC in the first leg of their AFC Cup quarter-final clash in Kuwait City.
One day after rivals South China drew 1-1 away to Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim, Kitchee failed to make any impact away from home against the three-time Kuwaiti champions.
Rogerinho scored twice while Fahad Al Enezi, Chadi Hammami, Vinicius Lopes and Ali Al Kandari were also on target as the home side notched up a comfortable margin of victory ahead of the second leg in Hong Kong on September 16.
The defeat is tough for us, but we will try our best to learn from the mistakes that we made tonight
“I want to congratulate our opponents for their big win as they put on a good performance and deserved to win,” said Kitchee coach Abraham Aliaga. “The hot weather and the humidity in Kuwait affected our players who failed to put in their usual performance.”
“We tried to put our mark on the match and create some scoring chances but the mistakes the players made affected us. The defeat is tough for us, but we will try our best to learn from the mistakes that we made tonight.”
Kuwait SC coach Mohammad Ebrahim felt his team’s first-half performance was instrumental in the victory.
“I’m extremely happy we recorded such a big win,” said Ebrahim. “It was a great achievement for us because we won against a team that has several good players and they are one of the better teams in the competition.
“We managed to seal the win in the first half by scoring three time and this allowed us to increase the pressure on Kitchee in the second half. The win will give us a big boost and hopefully we can continue our impressive performance in the second leg.”
Kuwait SC – winners of the AFC Cup in 2009, 2012 and 2013 – were in imperious form and signalled their desire to reclaim the title won by compatriots Qadsia SC last season.
It was a great achievement for us because we won against a team that has several good players and they are one of the better teams in the competition
The Kuwaitis wasted little time making their intentions clear with Husain Al Shammari forcing Kitchee goalkeeper Guo Jianqiao into a fine save after just six minutes with a well-struck free kick from range.
Gao’s heroics, though, were soon forgotten when, just six minutes later, the keeper misread Fahad Shaheen’s long punt forward, missing the ball to allow Rogerinho to stroll in and knock the ball into an unguarded net.
Kitchee’s Juan Belencoso almost provided the perfect repost seconds later at the other end, only for Musan Al Kandari to prove equal to the task by pushing the ball clear for a corner.
By the 21st minute Kuwait SC had doubled their lead when Abdullah Al Buraiki’s perfect pass curled behind the Kitchee defence and into the path of Al Enezi, who made no mistake with his low shot.
Belencoso again went close just before halftime when he headed over the bar, but deep into first-half stoppage time the Kuwaitis claimed their third when Al Buraiki’s cross from the left was pushed over the line by Hammami via a deflection off the visiting defence.
Seven minutes after the restart the pain continued for Kitchee when Rogerinho claimed his second and his team’s fourth after Hammami and Al Buraiki linked up before providing the Brazilian with the opportunity to score.
The hot weather and the humidity in Kuwait affected our players who failed to put in their usual performance
With eight minutes remaining a foul by Guo saw referee Crishantha Perera point to the spot and Vinicius struck, giving the goalkeeper no chance and virtually eliminating Kitchee’s hopes of a second straight semi-final appearance.
And with the game in injury time Al Kandari completed the rout with a first-time finish from inside the penalty area that Guo could do little to stop.
