Hong Kong coach slams Liechtenstein for ‘time wasting’, behaving like they ‘won World Cup’
Ashley Westwood says he is disappointed with result but ‘not worried in the slightest’ about the performance and his first loss in charge
Hong Kong boss Ashley Westwood criticised opponents Liechtenstein as the city’s representative team fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat on Thursday that ended the Europeans’ 41-match winless run – the longest in international football.
In his first official match in charge since taking the helm at the end of August, Westwood slammed the hosts for “time wasting” and said their bench celebrated like they “won a World Cup final”.
Liechtenstein’s defeat to San Marino last month snapped a 20-year winless streak for the Sammarinese and meant the Liechtensteiners then took on the baton for the longest active streak, having last tasted victory in a 2020 friendly against Luxembourg.
“Liechtenstein were time-wasting, trying to keep the ball in the corner, they were not using the ball towards the end of the game,” he said. “And when the final whistle went, I thought the Liechtenstein bench thought they’d won the World Cup final because they were delighted for the win.
“That tells me everything I need to know – that we gave them more than a game.”
Questioned further by the hosts, Westwood doubled down on his criticism of the side at 203rd in the Fifa rankings, 46 places lower than Hong Kong.