Football boss believes Hong Kong can give Iran run for their money at Asian Games

Head coach Jorn Andersen said he had never seen a Hong Kong team fight so hard as his players did in their Asian Games win over Palestine.

Matthew Orr’s second-half strike at Xiaoshan Sports Centre Stadium on Wednesday put the city’s team into the quarter-finals of the multi-sport event for the first time since 1958, generations before the 60-year-old’s players were even twinkles in their parents’ eyes.

A sterling defensive performance, and a willingness to at least try and compete with a far more physical team had the Norwegian extolling the virtues of his side’s battling qualities against technically superior opposition.

“Since I’m in Hong Kong I’ve never seen a Hong Kong team play like that, with this attitude, with this mentality,” he said.

“I said to them, we are not a great team, we are not a Brazil, we cannot play them off the pitch, we have to do what we can. This is fighting, discipline, being tactically aware, and sooner or later we’re going to win one.”

And after a dressing down for a dismal first-half performance, when Hong Kong’s attacks broke down almost before they started, a better display from back to front after the break had Andersen believing his side was capable of giving Iran a run for their money on Sunday.

While that may seem too optimistic on the coach’s part, since the first game against Uzbekistan, Hong Kong have been blessed with opponents who could not find their shooting boots, or when they did, with a goalkeeper, in Tse Ka-wing, who is proving very difficult to beat.

Despite acknowledging that Iran were “on another level” to his side’s first two opponents, Andersen said he had seen weaknesses in their final group game, a 3-0 win over Mongolia.

“The other teams are not stronger than Uzbekistan,” Andersen said. “All the teams, maybe South Korea [are better], maybe Japan, but all the other teams are the same quality, so we can beat [them], we can compete with anyone.

“They [Iran] have a problem, they are not so good in scoring. Marvellous players, quick, technical, like Japan, but scoring goals, they are poor.”

Asian Games: Orr strikes as Hong Kong stun Palestine to reach quarter-finals

Palestine should certainly have scored several times, especially given the movement off the ball by midfielders Sadiq Obaid and Anas Baniowda, who operated as part of a front three alongside Farick Haddad.

The trio certainly gave Hong Kong’s back four their toughest test of the Games, but Li Ngai-hoi and Ellison Tsang Yi-hang have been a revelation in the centre of defence, and striker turned left back Sun Ming-him may struggle to get his old job back.

Andersen’s attitude is far more positive than at the start of the Games, when he admitted to being angry that a chance to play weaker opposition in Afghanistan and Syria had disappeared when both teams withdrew.

Ultimately, testing his side twice against Uzbekistan is what prepared them for the game against Palestine and the head coach believes some players can go to “another level”.