AFC Asian Cup qualifier: Clinical Hong Kong beat Afghanistan 2-1 in Kolkata

Hong Kong kicked-off the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers with an impressive 2-1 win against Afghanistan at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday. Midfielder Wong Wai gave Hong Kong the lead in the 23rd minute and it didn’t take long for them to double the advantage.

Four minutes later, the Hong Kong forward line put up a fluid attacking move which resulted in the team’s second goal. The move started with defender Law Tsz Chun attracting three Afghan defenders towards himself on the right flank, before he tossed the ball towards the centre of the box. Matt Orr received the pass just outside the D and after some twisting and dribbling, he took a shot from the edge of the box, which rammed inside the bottom corner of the post.

The attack from Hong Kong continued and Afghan too had their chances in bits and pieces. Striker Ahmad Omran Haydary almost opened the scoring for Afghanistan towards the end of first half as he made a dangerous run inside the D before a strong shoulder push by Fung Hing WA left him stranded inside the D, pleading for a penalty which was denied by the referee.

The second half saw both the sides make some tweaks in their starting XI as Afghanistan produced some fine attack while Hong Kong kept their men back to avoid any hiccups.

Despite the focus being on defence, Hong Kong had an easy opportunity to extend their lead inside the five minutes of the second half. A mistake by defender Haroon Amiri, who was introduced in the second half, lost control of the ball inside the D but recovered quickly to send the ball away for a corner.

The match continued with Afghanistan trying hard to find the opener as Haydary fired an excellent shot at the hour mark, forcing the Hong Kong goalkeeper to make a diving save.

Moments after the attack, Hong Kong were awarded a free-kick just inside the Afghanistan half that saw Fung Hing Wa almost slam it inside the goal, as the goalkeeper made a desperate save with the ball bouncing right in front of him.

The Afghanistan attack continued and they were rewarded soon with a goal in the 81st minute with captain Farshad Noor finding the net from a short corner. The captain rammed a rolling ball inside the net from the set piece.

Hong Kong forward Sun Ming Him then got himself in trouble and got a yellow card while trying to stop a counter-attack by Afghanistan. Hong Kong midfielder Ngan Lok Fung, also cost Hong Kong the one-goal advantage after he handed the ball right outside the D, but Afghanistan failed to get anything out of the set piece from a dangerous position.