Xiangxue Sun Hei suffered another setback in the AFC Cup as they were held to a goal-less draw by Perlis of Malaysia in a group E match at the Mongkok Stadium last night.
Having lost their previous match to Home United of Singapore and taken only four points from three matches, Sun Hei's future in the group stage looks very shaky. Only the top teams in each group progress automatically.
Sun Hei were forced to make drastic changes to their line-up from Sunday's FA Cup 7-0 victory against Citizen due to suspension and injuries. In fact, only five players who started last night were first choices on Sunday. And they had only four players on the bench, including a goalkeeper. One substitute, injured midfielder Lau Chi-keung, appeared to be there to make up the numbers.
Reserves Tseng Siu-wing, Chu Siu-kei, Chan Yiu-lun, Chan Ho-man, Poon Man-tik and Pau Ka-yiu were given the chance last night to prove themselves and, to a certain extent, they did a good job.
The visitors were able to gain the upper hand in the opening stages only, and after that it was all Sun Hei. Unfortunately they lacked the killer finish to convert their dominance in goals. Skipper Lee Kin-wo, Chan Yiu-lun, Pau and Fladimir Freitas all came close to scoring in the second half, while Malaysian Manzoor Wahid hit the cross-bar in the 60th minute with a free-kick from the right.
And forward Chan Ho-man became the villain when he received a straight red card four minutes into the second half for stamping on Mohd Zain. Sun Hei also went a man down against Home United when Julius Akosah was sent off.
