Singapore: A Juan Belencoso brace was sufficient for Kitchee SC to see off the spirited challenge of Balestier Khalsa as they booked their place in the next round of the AFC Cup in the 2-1 win at Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday.
The tournament top scorer opened his account just before the quarter hour, but Fadhil Noh equalised for the home side against the run of play to make it 1-1 at the break.
But last year’s semi-finalists were not to be denied, and the Spanish striker sealed the three points after the hour to secure the win for the Hong Kong side and with it their place in the Round of 16.
Their hosts, though, had themselves needed all three points to keep alive their own hopes of the knockout stages and now will be playing only for pride in a fortnight’s time on the final matchday.
“Balestier played well tonight, and it was not easy to breach their defence,” said Kitchee coach Juan Molina, whose team also successfully qualified for the Hong Kong FA Cup final last Saturday.
“We had at least five clear chances to score more goals and scored two, but we were a little tired from the cup semi-final over the weekend.”
The visitors came out pressuring their opponents from the start as they targeted a win to confirm their place in the round of 16.
Belencoso signalled his intentions on 11 minutes when he sent his attempt off a Lo Kwan Yee cross on the right over the bar from a few yards out.
The Spaniard made no mistake three minutes later after Christian Annan drew Zaiful Nizam out of his line and squared the ball for him to finish.
Balestier nearly found an immediate reply, though, when Miroslav Kristic was afforded time and space inside the box but sent his shot on the wrong side of the netting.
And the hosts did successfully level the scores shortly after the half hour mark, when Kristic played a short ball for Fadhil to launch an unstoppable long-range shot from distance into the net.
The equaliser spurred on Balestier and they laid siege to the Kitchee goal early in the second period, but a lack of sharpness in the final third would eventually see them pay later in the match.
A drilled cross from Jordi Tarres saw Belencoso at the right place to stab the ball home inside the box to restore Kitchee’s one-goal cushion in the 61st minute.
The centre-forward could have completed his hat-trick right before the final whistle but he skied the ball over after being fed a cross from Cheung Kin Fung.
“We worked very hard, but it was not enough,” said Balestier coach Marko Kraljevic.
“It was not easy to play against tough opponents who kept the ball well and are better than us overall.”
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário