AFC Asian Cup: Hong Kong closing gap on better teams but attacking quality still missing, says Andersen
- Hong Kong lost all three matches in Qatar but performances mostly exceeded expectations
- Team’s attention now turns to back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against Uzbekistan
Jorn Andersen said Hong Kong would continue closing the gap on the continent’s big guns, after a stirring Asian Cup campaign finally ran aground with defeat by Palestine on Tuesday.
Hong Kong gave their supporters plenty to shout about in Qatar, notably taking traditional powerhouse Iran to the wire in a high-quality second match.
But Andersen conceded his side were down on energy by “10 to 20 per cent” against Palestine, after running non-stop to compete with the United Arab Emirates and the Iranians.
Palestine ruthlessly exposed that weariness in a one-sided second half, scoring twice to add to Oday Dabbagh’s 12th-minute header, and creating a succession of further openings.
Those Hong Kong fans gave their players a spine-tingling ovation at full-time, and their ongoing chants permeated the media centre walls as Andersen reflected on the past six weeks.
“The four weeks of preparation was hard, for me and for the players,” Andersen said. “We were unlucky with VAR decisions against UAE … that is not an excuse, it was my feeling. Against Iran, we competed and pushed really hard.
