AFC Champions League 2: Eastern blow golden chance to set up gripping last-16 battle
Marcos Gondra equaliser soon after visitors reduced to 10 men puts Eastern in box seat, but Filipino team strike late for smash-and-grab win
Eastern frittered away a golden opportunity to blow open their AFC Champions League Two group, losing 2-1 to 10-man Kaya FC at Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday night.
A 1-0 defeat for Sydney FC against Sanfrecce Hiroshima earlier in the day gave Eastern a chance to draw level on points with the Australian side, ahead of a potentially pivotal clash between the teams later this month.
Marcos Gondra’s exceptional 70th-minute equaliser, 60 seconds after the dismissal of Kaya’s Jovin Bedic, had seemingly swung the momentum in Eastern’s direction. But Kaya hit back to score their second penalty of the game and leave the home team shattered.
Rather than being emboldened by the pre-match news from Down Under, the hosts initially looked cowed by the enormity of what was at stake. Roberto Losada, the head coach, employed an unfamiliar three-man backline and the result was a first-half performance devoid of any of Eastern’s customary zip and purpose.
Kaya were everything Eastern were not from the outset. Fast, sharp, fluent and aggressive, they created their first opening after five minutes, when a dipping volley from midfielder Kaishu Yamazaki narrowly cleared the bar.
For all that they were in the ascendancy, the visitors had a very generous decision from Yousif Saeed Hasan, the referee, to thank for their 32nd-minute breakthrough.
