Six months ago Vissai Ninh Binh intimidated Hong Kong soccer by outclassing South China 3-1 in their opening AFC Cup group game. Now the Vietnamese side have a player in jail for match-fixing, another eight on suspended sentences and are staring at a 4-2 deficit in Tuesday night AFC Cup quarter-final against Hong Kong champions Kitchee.
On Monday, a court in Ninh Binh in northern Vietnam handed down the sentences after the players were convicted of conspiring to fix an AFC Cup match against Malaysian club Kelantan in March after placing bets with a bookmaker, who was also jailed for 30 months.
Their fortunes have no doubt been affected by the incident and it is difficul to regain winning form in such a short period with so many new faces
Ninh Binh withdrew from their top-flight V-League in April but continued to play in the AFC Cup, using players from other clubs and recruiting foreign talent.
“Their fortunes have no doubt been affected by the incident and it is difficul to regain winning form in such a short period with so many new faces,” said Kitchee director of football Chu Chi-kwong.
“Now they face a 4-2 deficit in an away match. We are in the driver’s seat but we cannot take things for granted. Ninh Binh still have quality and we have told out players not to be complacent.On one hand they must attack to reduce the deficit, but that will also give us more space for counter attack. If we score one goal, they have to score four to win because of the away goal rule. And if that happens, we don’t deserve to reach the semi-finals.”
Hong Kong international Huang Yang will not be available after receiving his second booking in the knockout stage and his position will be taken by Fernando Recio, who leaves his central defending role to Tsang Chi-hau. Ngan Lok-fung will keep his position in midfield after an impressive AFC Cup debut in the first leg, while midfield powerhouse Lam Ka-wai has recovered from leg problems after missing the away match.