Hong Kong’s AFC Asian Cup dream crashes back to earth with 2-0 loss to North Korea
Two first-half goals to the hosts put Liu Chun-fai’s team on the back foot and they never recover in Pyongyang cauldron
Hong Kong’s AFC Asian Cup dream is over, with Liu Chun-fai’s team falling at the final hurdle in a 2-0 loss to North Korea in Pyongyang on Tuesday night.
Hong Kong had to win the match to progress to the Asian Cup finals in the United Arab Emirates next year but were quickly under the pump, with Jong Il-gwan’s 18th-minute strike handing the hosts the ascendancy.
Hong Kong had a look soon after but Xu Deshuai’s shot found the goalkeeper and only minutes later a tough task became near impossible when Pak Kwang-ryong found the net to make it 2-0 after only 24 minutes.
Liu’s side would not lie down, however, and won plenty of possession, creating opportunities but failing to hit the scoreboard.
An early injury to Helio Goncalves didn’t help Hong Kong’s chances of keeping the North Koreans out and they were lucky not to fall further behind as the Koreans pushed on in the second half.
