Kitchee continued their march towards the knockout phase of the AFC Cup yesterday, with a commanding 2-0 win over Vietnamese side Song Lam Nghe An at Tseung Kwan O Stadium.
The Hong Kong champions' third successive victory in group F upheld their position as one of only two teams with a 100 per cent record in the competition.
'We now stand a very strong chance of reaching the round of 16, but we are not yet there,' said coach Josep Gombau. 'Today's victory was crucial but we still need at least three more points. Our two next matches will be away games, which usually present a lot more problems for us than when we play at home.'
Syria's Al Shorta, in group E, are the other club with a perfect record.
Kitchee will leave for Vinh, Song Lam Nghe An's home city, tomorrow in an effort to maximise their prospects of acclimatising ahead of the return fixture on Tuesday.
'Every match in the AFC Cup is difficult. Even though we won today, we were under a lot of pressure before we scored,' said Gombau. 'We have sent scouts to Vinh and we know the weather and the pitch conditions in the Vinh Stadium are difficult. But it is always like that in an AFC Cup away match. We have to cope.'
Playing in front of 1,700 fans, Kitchee were in control of last night's game from the start, and it was no surprise when they opened the scoring in the 11th minute, Zeshan Rehman heading home from a corner.