Wallace Cheung announced a HK$20,000 prize money for every player after the win, he also confirmed his wish to bring in many young players. I was surprised that South China made it through. They did leave it very late. I suppose their experience played a significant part. So their season did not end in complete disaster after all. But the team has a lot of older (33+) players and if they don't bring in many younger players in the summer, they won't be able to get through the quarter finals. But it won't be easy because the pool is not very big and the club has to compete with Eastern AA, Kitchee SC and Pegasus FC and others for them. The club has a huge amount of work to do.
Bengaluru FC training at the Mongkok Stadium before their match with hosts Kitchee tonight. South China beat them at the same stage and at the same stadium last year by 2-0. I guess Kitchee will do the same, they are really on form and their AFC Cup eligible players were rested on Sunday when they won 4-1 against Pegasus FC.
http://www.todayonline.com/sports/last-gasp-afiq-goal-gives-sundram-perfect-farewell-gift Last-gasp Afiq goal gives Sundram perfect farewell gift GUWAHATI - 10-man Tampines Rovers gave outgoing head coach V. Sundramoorthy a perfect send-off in his final match in charge of the club with a dramatic 2-1 win in extra time in the last 16 of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup against Indian side Mohun Bagan at the Indira Gandhi National Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday night (May 24). Bikramjit Singh cancelled out Jordan Webb’s second-half opener to take the game into extra-time, before defender Afiq Yunos struck home sweetly deep into the second half of extra time to seal a massive win for the Stags. TODAY broke the news last week that the former Singapore international will be appointed Singapore national coach on a one-year deal, with an official announcement due by the end of this week. And as the five-time S.League champions do not play again until June 11, club chairman Krishna Ramachandra confirmed this would be Sundram’s last game in charge before taking the reins of the national team. Tampines started the game in blistering fashion and played with great confidence but wasted a series of chances to take the lead in the first half. Star signing Jermaine Pennant saw a free kick from 20 metres saved in the sixth minute, before national striker Fazrul Nawaz fired a header wide of goal moments later. Mohun Bagan’s only realistic chance of the half came in the 17th minute when Mariners’ star striker Jeje Lalpekhlua saw a header from a corner cleared off the line, before Fazrul blasted a shot over the bar after Pennant expertly picked him out from the right wing. The home side suffered a massive blow when Trinadian forward Cornell Glen limped off injured, and Tampines really should have taken the lead towards the end of the half but Canadian winger Webb fired wide of goal following an exquisite through ball from Pennant. Disaster struck for Sundram’s men in the 54th minute when defender Shakir Hamzah was shown a red card for two bookable offences in the space of a few minutes. But despite being a man down, Tampines continued to press and took the lead out of the blue just after the hour mark. Webb sprinted down the right wing and appeared to over-hit a cross into the penalty area, only for Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Arnab Das to misjudge the looping ball and allow it to slip beyond his reach and into the back of the net. A goal down but a man up, Mohun Bagan threatened and came close to equalising on two occasions only to be denied both times by Singapore international Izwan Mahbud. But in the 73rd minute, Izwan dealt poorly with a long-range attempt from midfielder Bikramjit Singh and Mohun Bagan drew level. The game went into extra time but both sides failed to create any clear-cut chances until the 117th minute, when Pennant opted to play a free-kick short into the penalty area and picked out an unmarked Afiq. The Singapore international took a touch and lashed the ball into the back of the net to send his side into the last eight of the AFC Cup.
Great job by Tampines Rovers to beat Mohun Bagan. I hope South China (or Kitchee if they get through) to draw against them in the quarter finals. It will be great to see Jermaine Pennant plays in Hong Kong.
http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/football/2016/05/24/kaya-ready-to-unleash-bag-of-tricks-jdt/ Kaya have a bag of tricks ready against JDT in AFC Cup JOHOR BARU: Underdogs Kaya FC of the Philippines have done their homework and are confident they can overcome Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in the knockout stage of the AFC Cup competition on Wednesday. The teams will clash at the Larkin Stadium here at 8.45pm. “We are also fully prepared with our tactics ... we also plan to field at least four national players in the starting line-up,” said Kaya FC coach Joel Villarino, who also hopes that Filipino fans here would turn up in droves and get behind the team. Kaya FC skipper Aly Borromeo is also looking forward to playing against reigning AFC Cup champions JDT, saying “this match is a huge occasion for us as such knockout matches do not come by every day”. He said that the competition was a new experience for the Makati City-based club, who is an underdog in the competition. “We are prepared to grasp it and do everything we can to get a result,” said Borromeo. Villarino went a step further and said that “it was an honour for his side to play against JDT, who are one of the best teams in the competition”. Meanwhile, JDT defender Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Razak has called on his team-mates to stay focused and fight “as if this is our last match”. “Kaya FC are a good team as they have made it this far, but I’m more focused on my own team,” he said. “We may have home ground advantage, but it’s best that we give 100% in the match.”
http://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong...chee-out-afc-cup-last-16-reach-quarter-finals Bengaluru knock Kitchee out of AFC Cup last 16 to reach quarter-finals Despite home advantage, fatigued Hong Kong team fail to make most of early goal by Spaniard Rufino Segovia and exit regional competition 25 May 2016 Kitchee surprisingly have failed to reach the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup after losing to India’s JSW Bengaluru 3-2 at Mong Kok Stadium on Wednesday night. Kitchee were hoping to join fellow Hong Kong club, South China, into the last eight. Despite home ground advantage, the hosts could not match the speed of their Indian opponents on the pitch. “The pace of the match was extremely high as Bengaluru pushed us hard throughout the game,” said interim coach Chu Chi-kwong. “We did create some chances in the closing stages, but it was too difficult and too late to make amends [for the ground we lost earlier].” Despite leading 1-0 after just seven minutes through Spanish forward Rufino Segovia, they made an unexpected exit. Sunil Chhetri scored two for the visitors, including one from the penalty spot after 31 minutes. Kitchee’s Jorge Tarres made it 2-2 at half-time to give the locals hope. But the Hong Kong side couldn’t find the net again as Daniel Lalhlimpuia buried their hopes with a 51st minute winner. “We’d said previously that coming to Hong Kong would be difficult because of the type of team that Kitchee are, but we also said we were confident and would do our homework. Everybody stepped up to the mark and we got the result,” Bengaluru assistant coach Matthew Holland told the AFC website. Kitchee finished top of group F in the pool stage to enjoy home ground advantage in the last-16 match, but struggled to even trouble Bengaluru, who were second in group H. South China, who defeated Ceres of the Philippines 1-0 after 120 minutes in another round of 16 match played on Tuesday, are the only team from Hong Kong to reach the quarter-finals of the regional cup competition, which will take place in September.
http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/football/2016/05/25/jdt-goal-fest-beat-kaya-fc-afc-cup/ Lucero the toast for JDT in Kaya AFC Cup demolition JDT's Jorge Diaz (in blue) was fouled by Kaya captain Aly Borromeo in the AFC Cup match at Larkin Stadium JOHOR BARU: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) have booked their place in the AFC Cup in style – demolishing Kaya FC of the Philippines 7-2 in a round of 16 match at the Larkin Stadium. A downpour two hours before kickoff threatened to delay the game on Wednesday, but the sky soon cleared up – giving the homesters, especially hat-trick hero Juan Lucero, a perfect sight of the visitor’s goal. It took defending champions JDT just 14 minutes to open the scoring, off a well-taken free-kick by Argentine Lucero. The Southern Tigers made it 2-0 when Jorge Diaz slotted in the spot kick in the 23rd minute after he was brought down in the box. Azammuddin Akil then added a brace to make it 4-0. First, he met a cross by Diaz in the 33rd minute before sending a beautiful curling shot over Kaya goalkeeper Matthew Acton six minutes later. Kaya managed to pull one back after the interval when forward Jose Porteria’s weak shot crept into JDT’s net in the 53rd minute. However, any hopes of a mini-revival from the Philippines side were quickly dashed when Lucero met a cutback from Diaz to make it 5-1 in the 54th minute. Diaz continued to torment the Kaya defence and it was his cross that led to Mahali Jasuli, who replaced Azammuddin, nodding in goal number six for JDT. Lucero completed his hat-trick a minute later when he blasted the ball into the roof of Kaya’s goal to make it 7-1. Kaya got their second goal when midfielder Antonio Ugarte broke through to put the ball past Mohd Izham Tarmizi in the 88th minute to make it 7-2.
Ahed : league & FA Cup runner-up. if they win the afc cup, will they have a spot for the afc cup 2017? or nothing
a foreigner played in the group stage + round of 16 for his team. if his contract is not renewed with his club, can he continue to play in the afc cup? i don't think so but who knows...
No... the players can't represent different clubs in the same year. In last year, Cheung Kin Fung and Li Ngai Hoi played for Kitchee and South China in group stage and round of 16 respectively. They swapped the clubs during the summer, then both Kitchee and South China could not register for them in quarter final.
Draw of quarter finals: West Air Force (Iraq) vs Al Jaish (Syria) Al Ahed (Lebanon) vs Al Muharraq (Bahrain) East South China (Hong Kong) vs Johor D&T (Malaysia) Bengaluru (India) vs Tampines Rovers (Singapore) 1st leg on 13-14 Sept and 2nd leg on 20-21 Sept. The winner of West Zone will host the final match.
Bad draw for South China. They meet Johor and ex-coach Mario Gomez again. Mario Gomez must be smiling in his sleep. Well I hope Wallace Cheung finds the money to get a few good foreigners to replace the aging ones, especially in midfield, otherwise there is little chance South China can make it to the semi-finals.
Today Online Tampines to face Indian side Bengaluru in AFC Cup last 8 AMANPREET SINGH SINGAPORE — Tampines Rovers will face reigning Indian league champions Bengaluru FC in the last eight of the Asian Football Confederation Cup following the draw for the quarter-finals in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The Stags will travel to India for the first leg on Sept 14 before hosting the return leg on Sept 21. “At this stage of the competition, no team is an easy team to play against and we are looking forward to what will be a competitive contest against Bengaluru,” said Tampines head coach Akbar Nawas, who recently took the job following V Sundramoorthy’s appointment as head coach of the Singapore national team. Akbar believes playing at home in the second leg will provide a massive psychological boost for his side. “We have to be tactically smart in the first leg, and if we can get a positive result there, we have every chance of reaching the semi-finals with our home support in the second leg,” he said. Tampines defeated another Indian side Mohun Bagan 2-1 after extra time in the Round of 16, and player-assistant coach Mustafic Fahrudin is expecting an even sterner test against Bengaluru. “We had to work hard for the win against Mohun Bagan and I am expecting Bengaluru, who have been doing well in the Indian league in recent years, to be even tougher opponents,” he said. “It may be difficult but we have to show that we can perform and will be ready.” Should Tampines reach the semi-finals, a feat which no Singaporean side has achieved since 2004, they could play reigning champions and Causeway rivals Johor Darul Ta’zim, who were drawn against Hong Kong side South China in the quarter-finals.
I think the ACL and AFC Cup need to move to a UCL and EL format, this will be the next step in Asian club football. Also many teams from smaller teams will gain valuable experience playing against teams from the big leagues of Japan, Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and so on.
100% but first the Iraqi, Bahraini, Lebanese, Syrian etc clubs should pass the licensing requirements...
AFC APPEAL COMMITTEE DECISIONS / Jun 24 2016 / A decision by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Appeal Committee today has reversed the result of the Al Wahda (SYR) vs Al Dharia (PLE) AFC Cup match, which was scheduled to be played on March 9, 2016. The Committee decided that Al Wahda, not Al Dharia, was the party having caused the cancellation of the match. This means that the final score of the match is Al Wahda 0, Al Dharia 3. The AFC Disciplinary Committee had previously ordered the match to be forfeited in favour of Al Wahda. The Member Associations have been informed of the decision.
Pakistan's K-Electric results reversed for preliminary stage, albeit a bit late now!! http://www.dawn.com/news/1268471/afc-slaps-2000-fine-on-k-electric-for-fielding-ineligible-player
The AFC only makes these decisions when nothing is on the line- Al Wahda lost to Al-Ahed in the Round of 16. The Al-Ahli vs. Al-Jeish appeal was thrown out because the latter had progressed to the quarterfinals. Some clarity from the AFC on this would be nice. It seems like if a team doesn't want to play in Palestine they can stomp their feet and get the match moved or awarded to them administratively- truly disgusting gamesmanship by everyone involved. That said, it was a solid performance overall by Dhahria and Al-Ahli which built on the respectable showing from Tarji Wadi Al-Nes last year. The 2017 edition should yield even more success for Palestinian clubs. Shabab Al-Khaleel are going to make a serious run at not only getting out of the groups but maybe even winning the darn thing. They have replaced Abdelatif Bahdari with Alaa Abo Saleh who captained Bnei Sakhnin in the Israeli first tier last season. Tamer Seyam has left for Hilal Al-Quds but Ashraf Nu'man will take his place. They've also signed Pablo Tamburrini and Alexis Norambuena. The projected starting lineup will feature six players who started in the last set of WCQ vs. UAE/Timor Leste (Toufic Ali, Haitham Dheeb, Ashraf Nu'man, Alexis, Pablo, Abu Nahya)
Yes, I thought the same thing, I read the announcement and then thought, what difference does this make. I could only come to the conclusion that they made the easy decision. Reversed the decision to keep people happy and show that they need them for future editions. It's the same as the Pakistan team K-Electric. Making decisions when nothing matters anyway.
Rambo and Mario Gomez at the pre-match press conference yesterday. Tonight South China will take on Johor DT.