TSW Pegasus were just three minutes from reaching the last 16 of the AFC Cup yesterday, but blew their chance after conceding a late goal away to Sriwijaya of Indonesia.
The Hong Kong side, who were down to 10 men but needed only a draw to reach the knockout stage of the tournament, lost 3-2 in their last group match after holding the Indonesians to a 2-2 draw until the closing stages.
'The players did their best in extreme conditions - the scorching heat, one man down, the hostile home fans,' coach Chan Hiu-ming said. 'They battled hard until the last minute and I could not ask more from them. Perhaps we needed a little bit of luck to take us through.
'But still we have failed in our ambition to reach the knockout stage. The two home defeats to Sriwijaya and Song Lam Nghe An [of Vietnam] cost us dearly. Although this is our first AFC Cup campaign, we have no excuses.'
Former Hong Kong First Division top scorer Keith Gumbs did the damage first as the ex-Kitchee marksman levelled the score for Sriwijaya after Lai Yiu-cheong put the visitors ahead in the 30th minute.
Supardi made it 2-1 for the home team after the break, but Lee Hong-lim's goal in the 75th minute revived the visitors' hopes. Gumbs, though, wasn't finished and when his header was deflected by goalkeeper Li Hon-ho, Mahadirga Lasut pounced on the loose ball to score from close range.