Kirins fail to make HK final

Kirins fail to make HK final

Teerasil Dangda, right, in action during the match against Kitchee.
Teerasil Dangda, right, in action during the match against Kitchee.

Thai League champions SCG Muang Thong United failed to reach the final of the Lunar New Year Cup, going down to top Hong Kong club Kitchee FC 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

The tournament is being held in Hong Kong to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Muang Thong went into the match with their top stars -- Cleiton Silva, Teerasil Dangda, Theerathon Bunmathan and Chanathip Songkrasin -- in the starting line-up on Saturday night.

The Thai champions had a good start to the match as Chanathip, surrounded by a number of Kitchee defenders, cleverly slipped the ball to Teerasil to score with a sizzling volley and put the Kirins 1-0 ahead in the first half.

The hosts equalised 10 minutes into the second half when Nikola Komazec planted a pass from Matthew Thomas into the net.

Chanathip came close to producing the winner for Muang Thong but his free-kick was warded off by Kitchee goalkeeper Wang Zhenpeng.

The two sides, despite trading attacks, failed to break the deadlock and a penalty shoot-out was called.

With the score tied at 4-4, Thailand striker Teerasil's feeble shot from the spot was comfortably saved by Wang. Fernando Recio took Kitchee into the final by converting the last penalty without trouble.

Kitchee FC will meet Auckland City in the final and Muang Thong will take on FC Seoul in the third-place match. Both games will be played tomorrow at Hong Kong Stadium.

Muang Thong coach Totchtawan Sripan said: "We may have missed the chance to play in the final, but the players did their best and played as planned.

"I see our next match against FC Seoul as a great opportunity to gauge our potential before taking part in the AFC Champions League."

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