Keeper Xiao inspired as Kitchee embarrass Serie A champions
Indonesian striker Rochi Putiray scored twice and Hong Kong international Xiao Guoji produced the heroics that have almost become routine from the SAR's goalkeepers in the big matches as Kitchee unbelievably beat newly crowned Serie A champions AC Milan 2-1 at the Hong Kong Stadium last night.
The 33-year-old Putiray appeared as a second-half substitute, having been left out of the starting XI for the one-off hired hands of the industrious Fulham forward Luis Boa Morte and the indifferent Predrag Mijatovic. Putiray produced one of his most memorable performances since arriving in the SAR in 1999, as the little-known Hong Kong club produced a result beyond their wildest dreams.
The fact that Kitchee were going to make a game of it had been evident from the opening exchanges, forcing a corner from which Cameroonian Wilfred Bamnjo embarrassed Christian Abbiatti with a long-range effort.
Perhaps the Milan keeper had heard of Bamnjo's previous reputation - something along the lines of being unable to hit a cow's backside with a banjo - but he made a mess of the shot, gratefully watching it squirm wide of the target.
The applause was equally as fervent for Kitchee's efforts to stifle the first few Milan attacks. Xiao, who recently returned to the Hong Kong squad after a three year gap, has probably never before had an ovation simply for sliding out to gather, as he did twice while Nisa Saveljic, one of the three former Yugoslavian World Cup special imports, shouldered Andriy Shevchenko out of the way.
In the early running the Italian champions, meanwhile, offered none of the flashes of genius that Real Madrid showed last year. Indeed Shevchenko's strike partner Marco Borriello managed to punctuate one of their most fluid moves with an attempted finish that was far more Mongkok Stadium than San Siro. The 21-year-old was fortunate that his total miss-kick in the 22nd minute was greeted with cheers rather than the traditional profane Hong Kong groan.