AFC Champions League 2: Tai Po win hot-tempered clash but Eastern humiliated 9-0
Deserved victory for Hong Kong champions Tai Po, while Eastern’s goal difference reaches a staggering -28
An inspired Tai Po beat Cong An Hanoi 1-0 in a bad-tempered clash at Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday to bid a stirring farewell to their AFC Champions League Two campaign.
The local champions finished unbeaten at home and climbed above Beijing Guoan into third in their group.
James Temelkovski converted a 13th-minute penalty for the only goal, but he would not have been put on the spot had it not been for the first of several questionable decisions from referee Hanna Hattab.
Philip Chan Siu-kwan fired home on the rebound after a Temelkovski shot had been intercepted by the arm of defender Leygley Adou. Tai Po’s celebrating players and supporters were aghast when they realised Hattab had blown his whistle a split-second before Chan’s strike. Temelkovski composed himself to beat Vu Thanh Vinh inside his left post from 12 yards.
Hattab did not see goalkeeper Thanh Vinh bringing down Temelkovski in the box shortly before half-time, after also overlooking Patrick Valverde being felled by a reckless Hoang Van Toan challenge.
The visitors’ Brazilian forward, China, was booked for a roughhouse tackle on Ngan Cheuk-pan, with Tai Po midfielder Mikael Guterres similarly punished for a lunge on Tranh Dinh Trong.