亞冠盃外圍賽再遇河內FC 傑志矢志復仇晉級

The game that all Kitchee fans have been waiting for has finally arrived! Highly motivated to do well in the AFC Champions League, Kitchee is set to face off against Hanoi FC on Wednesday evening’s AFC Champions League preliminary stage in Hong Kong Stadium. The match will kick-off at 8:00pm. Both sides actually met up in last year’s AFC Champions League preliminary stage, with Kitchee travelling all the way to Vietnam to take on Hanoi FC. Unfortunately, the Blues came up on the wrong side of a 1:0 defeat and crashed out of the tournament. Fate has pitted the two sides back against each other after a year later and Kitchee will now enjoy home field advantage. Adding big-ticket signings such as Kim Dong Jin and Krisztian Vadocz to the fold, complimenting the duo with a group of highly motivated Kitchee warriors, the stage has seemingly been set for an epic battle against Hanoi FC on Wednesday evening. However, it must also be said that Kitchee has been going through a rough spell recently by its usually high standard. After triumphing in the Senior Shield trophy, the Blues has uncharacteristically found itself mired in a two-game losing streak. Whether the team can rediscover its confidence and form quickly might seem to be the key to Wednesday’s night’s encounter with Hanoi FC. Captain Lo Kwan-yee reveals the game against Hanoi FC should be a 50-50 battle. Despite heading into the game with home field advantage, the captain cautious all of his teammates to stay highly on guard throughout the match. “We played against the opponent in last year’s tournament, therefore the two sides should know each other very well. Hanoi FC players tend to be agile and quick, we need to be prepared for that,” Lo said. “We have home field advantage for the upcoming match and that should be a boost to our winning chances. We have also signed quality performers such as Kim Dong Jin and Krisztian Vadocz, complimenting them with the ever-dangerous Fernando Pedreira. Therefore I quite fancy our chance of making it to the next round of the tournament.” Fernando Pedreira, who has been in sparkling form this season, is extremely excited about the opportunity to go head-to-head against Hanoi FC in the AFC Champions League preliminary stage. “I am very happy to be able to represent Kitchee in the AFC Champions League and fight for glory. Hanoi FC is not a weak side at all but I am confident on our own chance. When we played against them in the tournament last year, we created lots of chances and only missed out on winning the game because we did not capitalize our chances. Now that we will be playing at home in Hong Kong Stadium, as long as we battle hard and take our chances, Kicthee should be able to overcome the opponent and advance to the next round,” the Brazilian believed.