Hong Kong boss Westwood won’t apologise or quit after humiliating Singapore loss
Coach says team have improved with him in charge, and 41-year-old Wang Zhenpeng was chosen in goal because Tse Ka-wing felt under pressure
A defiant Ashley Westwood has refused to apologise for Hong Kong’s crushing Asian Cup defeat at home to Singapore, and said he expected to continue as coach because “we’ve improved loads”.
The punchy Englishman defended his handling of Tuesday night’s let-down at Kai Tak Stadium, where he picked a 41-year-old goalkeeper who had been on the international shelf for three years and left three of his best players on the bench when even a draw would have saved the day.
Westwood claimed he had been forced to pick the nervy Wang Zhenpeng, who was badly at fault for the visitors’ equaliser, because first choice Tse Ka-wing had been “feeling under pressure”.
And in a forthright press conference following the loss in front of a record Kai Tak crowd of 47,762, which sent Singapore into the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia at their hosts’ expense, Westwood insisted he had the backing of his Football Association of Hong Kong, China bosses, saying his team were “contenders”.
“It feels terrible,” he said. “We want to be in big tournaments. We’ve taken expectations to a place where we’re devastated over not qualifying.”