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Thursday May 7, 2009

It’s down to the wire for Kedah, Eastern Athletic

By LOGANATH VELLOO

ALOR SETAR: Come May 19, either Kedah or Eastern Athletic of Hong Kong will finish as runners-up in Group G and qualify for the AFC Cup knockout stage.

With just one round of group matches remaining, both teams are tied on seven points, with the Malaysian treble champions ahead on goal difference.

However, their destinies hinge on how their respective opponents approach the final group matches in two weeks’ time.

Kedah’s May 19 opponents Chonburi have secured top spot in the group and took their foot off the pedal in Tuesday’s 1-2 defeat by Eastern in Hong Kong. It was the Thais’ first defeat of the campaign after four straight convincing victories.

Eastern’s opponents, Hanoi ACB, are out of the running for a last 16 spot after being roasted 0-7 by the Canaries in Alor Setar on Tuesday.

The Vietnamese club side admitted after the thrashing that they could not keep up with Kedah because they were playing with virtually a reserve team. Hanoi rested their first squad for domestic commitments.

“We suffered a heavy defeat because we came to Malaysia with our young players. Only three of my regulars faced Kedah,” said Hanoi coach Nguyen Cong Vinh.

Said the Hanoi ACB coach: “The Vietnam domestic league will have a mid-season break in a fortnight’s time and we can afford to put out our best line-up for the AFC Cup final group match. We will give our best effort against Eastern.”

Following Chonburi’s surprise defeat to Eastern, Kedah coach Mohd Azraai Khor declared that it was dangerous for the Canaries to solely rely on favours from other teams to qualify for the knockout stage.

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