Advertisement
AFC Champions League: Kitchee off to flier, beating Chiangrai United 1-0 in group J opener
- New signing Ruslan Mingazov’s goal the difference as Kitchee show little sign of rust despite more than three months out of action
- ‘We didn’t get to the level that we wanted to,’ says head coach Alex Chu Chi-kwong. ‘Hopefully we will get there in the next two games’
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
It was a dream debut for Ruslan Mingazov as Kitchee SC held off Chiangrai United 1-0 in their opening AFC Champions League (ACL) group J game on Saturday night.
Advertisement
The reigning Hong Kong champions scored the only goal after 16 minutes at a humid Buriram City Stadium in Thailand, with a beautifully placed shot from the edge of the box from new signing Mingazov.
The experienced Turkmenistan winger, in for the injured South Korean Park Jun-hyung, was impressive throughout as a dangerous-looking Kitchee caught Chiangrai on the counter-attack.
Captain Helio Goncalves and goalkeeper Paulo Cesar, who appears to have replaced Wang Zhenping as first choice, had a quiet first half at the “Thunder Castle” but were called on in a jittery last quarter.
There will be few complaints from manager Alex Chu Chi-kwong after “The Bluebirds” showed little sign of having not played competitively in more than three months.
Advertisement
Advertisement