Andy Naegelein injury a blow to Hong Kong
Midfielder nursing a hamstring problem and misses clash against Taiwan in East Asian Cup qualifier
Hong Kong suffered a blow to their hopes of restoring lost pride in their match against Taiwan on Sunday at the East Asian Cup qualifiers after star midfielder Andy Naegelein failed a fitness test.
Virtually out of the tournament following Hong Kong's 2-1 defeat by group favourites North Korea on Thursday - only the group winners go through to the China finals next year - Kim Pan-gon's men are hoping to win their remaining two games and finish second on the table.
I want the side to keep on attacking. The players must change their mentality if we are to achieve good results
But Naegelein, who pulled his hamstring against the North Koreans and missed two training sessions, was declared a non-starter and will be replaced by Lam Ka-wai, who will have his first start in the tournament. Kim is still hopeful that Naegelein, who has a German father and Hong Kong mother, will take his place for Hong Kong's final game against Guam on Tuesday.
"Andy is still on the treatment table," the coach said yesterday. "As a precaution, we would rather have him a bit fresher for our final game against Guam."
Having lost to the North Koreans, Kim admitted it was hard to pick up his charges with nothing but pride at stake against Taiwan, who surprisingly lost to Guam 2-1 in their opening game.
"We played a bit conservatively against the North Koreans. The players were thinking a draw would be enough.