Kitchee set for Jeonbuk Motors away clash in final

Newly-crowned Hong Kong Premier League champion Kitchee will face K-League powerhouse Jeonbuk Motors in Jeon-ju, Korea Republic on Wednesday evening for a crunching battle in the final round of the AFC Champions League Group E. The exciting fixture will take place in Jeonju World Cup Stadium and kick-off time is set for 8:00pm (local time). At the present time, Kitchee occupies the forth position in Group E with one win and four losses from its first five group fixtures, while Jeonbuk Motors currently sits atop of the group. Despite a seemingly obvious gap between the two competing sides, it should be noted that Kitchee has displayed substantial improvements ever since losing to Jeonbuk Motors in Hong Kong. Therefore while the Blues might be destined to miss out on the next round of the AFC Champions League, Kitchee players should be counted on to put up a brave fight on Wednesday night, while trying to wrap up the group stage with a performance that can make the Kitchee supporters proud. Versatile operator Li Ngai-hoi reveals it has been a grueling process to get to the final game of the AFC Champions League group stage but insists the Kitchee troops will be giving its outmost on Wednesday night, hoping to close out the group stage on a high note. “It is indeed a pity to not be able to advance further in the AFC Champions League,” Li reflected. “However, now that we are here for the final game of the AFC Champions League group stage, let us see whether we can utilize what we have learnt from the past five group matches, give Jeonbuk Motors a serious run for its money and come up with some points from the battle.” Midfield schemer Lam Ka-wai acknowledges Kitchee has steadily improved in each and every game during the course of the AFC Champions League group stage, thus expects much of the same heading into Wednesday evening’s battle against Jeonbuk Motors. “Every game in the AFC Champions League group stage is extremely important to Kitchee’s future development and improvement, as it is a great learning opportunity for the Club. Therefore now that we are in the final game of the group stage, we must seize the opportunity, give it our best shot and compete against the opponent, regardless of where we stand in the group,” Lam expressed. “Jeonbuk Motors is very strong on both flanks, yet I do believe as long as we maintain solid linkages in midfield and stay switched on throughout the course of the game, we should be able to narrow the gap between the two sides.”