Tainan City need to bolster defence in must-win match

Victory over Eastern Long Lions in Group J vital to have any chance of advancing in AFC Cup

Tainan City FC head coach Kenneth Kwok Kar-lok has vowed to apply the lessons from his side’s 3-1 loss at the hands of Hong Kong team Lee Man in their AFC Cup quest in Buriram, Thailand.

The club from Taiwan must win against another Hong Kong club, Eastern Long Lions, in the final Group J match tomorrow night to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stage as the battle for the solitary spot in the next round approaches its climax.

“I’m proud of them,” Kwok said of his players. “They worked so hard to achieve my match plan. There were a few mistakes that happened and they really killed us with the errors we committed. It’s a lesson for them.”

After a scoreless first half, Lee Man went into a two-goal lead when Yung Hui-to and Junior Dutra struck and, while MarcMechez Fenelus pulled one back from the penalty spot for Tainan, the Hong Kong club restored their cushion as Chang Hei-yin netted 12 minutes from time.

Kwok admitted his team had failed to capitalise on the chances when they came, especially in the second half of the match.

“We are an attacking team and seldom need to put emphasis on defence, so the plan worked well in the first half. We just failed to convert the chances,” Kwok said. “I’m still on the positive side. We need to have better finishing and we should have scored from the few chances we had. I’m still optimistic. This team has a future.”

The win took Lee Man on to three points from their two games in Group J and head coach Chan Hiu-ming and his players must now wait for the outcome of the final match to find out if they can advance to the next phase.

As the group games draw to a close, the issue of where the 2023 Asian Cup will be held continues to linger.

The Asian Football Confederation yesterday said it had extended its deadline for bids to stage the matches, following China’s decision to relinquish hosting rights.

I’m still on the positive side. We need to have better finishing ... this team has a future

KENNETH KWOK, TAINAN CITY COACH

China was awarded hosting rights in 2019 and the 24-team competition was expected to be held across 10 cities between June 16 and July 16 next year. South Korea and Japan have expressed interest in hosting duties but no clear bidder has emerged.

Football Australia was also weighing up a possible bid.

The AFC said interested parties must now confirm their bid by July 15, having previously set a June 30 deadline after inviting bids for the championship last month.