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Kitchee's Lam Ka-wai (left) and Nabeel Sabah Zghair of Arbil FC from Iraq compete for a header in their AFC Cup semi-final. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

A final too far: Kitchee's AFC Cup dreams are over

Iraqi club's two early goals in nine minutes scupper hopes of hosts to become first Hong Kong team to reach final of regional competition

AFC Cup 2014
Kevin Kung

Kitchee's march to become the first Hong Kong club to reach an AFC Cup final ended following a 2-1 defeat by Iraqi team Arbil FC in the second leg of their semi-final at Mong Kok Stadium on Tuesday.

The local league champions had been dreaming of making history, but they failed despite a full house of 6,500 spectators.

The fans cheered loudly for Kitchee, and also acknowledged the Occupy Central protest in Mong Kok, Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Central.

We made some mistakes tonight, but this is football. My players did well and they fought till the very last minute
Jose Molina

The crowd took part in an online campaign to clap for a minute at nine minutes and 28 seconds in the first half to pay tribute to the protesters who faced tear gas on September 28 in Admiralty - at the height of the Occupy Central protests.

Kitchee held the advantage going into the second leg. A 1-1 draw in Jordan two weeks ago meant a goalless draw would have been enough to see Kitchee through to the AFC Cup final. But it was the Iraqi club who took charge of the match from the outset.

Arbil were two up inside the opening 10 minutes. The first coming from Ali Faez Atiyah who scored a penalty in the third minute, his effort rebounding off the post and bouncing in off the unfortunate Kitchee keeper Wang Zhenpeng.

Iraqi striker Amjed Radhi followed up with a header six minutes later.

The priceless two away goals for the 2012 AFC Cup finalists, put pressure on Kitchee who would need three goals to reach the final.

Gao Wen, who came off the bench for Kitchee in the second half, scored on 69 minutes after a corner from Lam Ka-wai.

The Hong Kong club laid siege to the Arbil goal as the clock ticked down, but their efforts were all in vain and Arbil advanced 3-2 on aggregate.

Kitchee's Lo Kwan-yee (left) almost clashes with Arbil's Hardi Seyamand Tahir at Mong Kok Stadium. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Kitchee coach Jose Molina said he was still proud of his players, despite their bitter loss. "I am very sad, but I am still proud of my players," said Molina after match.

"We made some mistakes tonight, but this is football. My players did well and they fought till the very last minute. They showed their determination and always wanted three goals."

Molina said he hoped the team could improve on this year's AFC Cup showing next campaign. He said it was too early to talk about their preparations for next season's AFC Champions League qualifiers.

"We will now focus on the [Hong Kong] Premier League and win those matches first, and then later we will think about our plans for the Champions League. It is still far away," said Molina.

Disappointed Kitchee captain Lo Kwan-yee thanked their supporters for turning up.

"The atmosphere was great with a full house of fans. The defeat is also a disappointment for all Kitchee players," said Lo.

"We didn't expect to lose two goals so early in this match. But we stayed strong and we had many goal opportunities. Still it was difficult to catch up, I hope our team can learn from this match and keep improving."

Kitchee's achievement matches that of Sun Hei and South China, who also reached the AFC Cup semi-finals in 2005 and 2009, respectively.

Afterwards, Arbil's coach Bargam Ayoub admitted the home side had been unfortunate.

"Both teams are very close to the finals. It was hard luck for Kitchee," said Ayoub. "The weather was very tough for us. The players did well and played according to my plan, and we had some luck to reach the final."

Arbil FC now face Kuwaiti side Qadsia SC, who beat Indonesia's Persipura Jayapura 6-0 in the second leg of their semi-final.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: AFC Cup dreams are over for Kitchee
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