Hanoi players celebrate after scoring a goal against HCM City in V.League on Sunday (Source: internet)The V. League champions will miss the servicesof ‘architect’ Pham Thanh Luong who suffered an injury in the domestic match onJanuary 22. He scored a goal in Hanoi’s 3-1 win over HCM City before he was hitby pain. The Vietnam’s 2016 Golden Ball holder cancelled his flight at the lastminute.
Their key striker Hoang Vu Samson has to handlehis physique problem. He arrived in Hong Kong with the team but doctors saidthe two-time V. League top scorer was over-worked and his chances at playingwere doubtful. The Nigeria-born striker has netted four goals in his first fourappearances of the 2017 season.
Hanoi’s new contract Oloya Moses has not playedfor his club for even a second as he is on duty with his Uganda team who arecompeting in the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
Another foreigner, Loris Arnaud, asked for leaveto return France because of some family issues.
The Vietnamese representative also had a problemwith their flight which was delayed for several hours because of overloadedschedules near the Lunar New Year.
They spent about a day to reach Hong Kong’sCourtyard Marriot on January 24 and had to cancel one of their two practices.
In this match, Kitchee will know Samson’s strikepartner Gonzalo Marronkle only too well as it was the Argentine who scored theonly goal in last year’s AFC Champions League Preliminary Stage 2 clash betweenthe two sides. Young Vietnamese midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai, 19, has alsostarted the new season well having scored three goals in four games.
“Last year, we beat Kitchee 1-0 in the sametournament. At that time we were equal in strength but this year the hosts arewell prepared for the tournament adding qualified players in line-up. So thiswill be a tough game but we will play our best,” coach Chu Dinh Nghiem of Hanoisaid.
Kitchee earlier signed a contract with formerHungarian national team midfielder Krisztian Vadocz.
Vadocz, 31, has played for European clubs suchas Osasuna, Grasshoppers and Alaves.
The team also has midfielder Kim Dong-jin,who won a UEFA Cup with Zenit St Petersburg.
Kitchee’s player to watch is midfielder HuangYang who joined the team in 2011-12 season.
He has consistently been among the first nameson the team sheet for Kitchee, chalking up more minutes played than any otherKitchee outfielder over the last six seasons.
The 33-year-old former Hong Kong Footballer ofthe Year may not be much of a goal-threat due to his role as a defensivemidfielder, but his work-rate and consistency for Kitchee are a major forcebehind the club’s success.
Huang is complimented by captain Lo Kwan-yee,another ever-present player at club-level and for the Hong Kong representativeside, while naturalised international striker Alex Akande, club’s leadingscorer with seven league goals, could be an inspired addition.
This is Kitchee’s third time participating inthe League.
Meanwhile Hanoi has reached the play-off stagetwice in their previous three times.
The match will be played at 9pm local time withthe winners travelling to play Ulsan Hyundai in the play-off stage next month.-VNA
VNA
