Asian Games 2023: Orr strikes as Hong Kong stun Palestine to reach football quarter-finals in Hangzhou
- Hong Kong striker Matthew Orr’s second-half goal enough to separate the teams
- It will be the first time since 1958 that the city’s men have reached the last eight at the Asian Games
Matthew Orr’s second-half strike gave Hong Kong a famous 1-0 win over Palestine in the Asian Games on Wednesday, and powered them into the quarter-finals in the process.
The Hong Kong striker reacted quickest to a ball fired into the box after good work by skipper Wu Chun-ming, and the defence that head coach Jorn Andersen has worked so hard on over the past week then stopped everything Palestine threw at them.
It is the first time Hong Kong have made the last eight of an Asian Games since 1958, when they lost 5-2 to India after extra time, and completely justified Andersen’s decision not to push his players too hard in the second game against Uzbekistan on Monday.
There may have been an element of luck about the slight deflection that Orr’s shot took on it’s way into the goal after 48 minutes, but from six yards, goalkeeper Mohammed Ahmed would have struggled to stop it either way.
The Hong Kong striker raced over to celebrate in front of a raucous home crowd, and he had them on their feet again moments later when a rasping shot from the edge of the penalty area fizzed just over the bar.
Hong Kong’s chances as the game progressed were few and far between, and the nearest they came to a second was when Chang Hei-yin latched onto a bouncing ball in the box and fired a shot that Ahmed did well to turn away for a corner.