Jorn Andersen admitted to being “very scared” halfway through Hong Kong’s 4-0 win over Bhutan on Thursday, because he feared his team’s lack of fitness would come back to haunt them.
The Norwegian has been consistently honest about the ability of local players to keep going for 90 minutes, and so it was again in the first leg of Hong Kong’s Fifa World Cup play-off.
Four goals to the good at half-time, Hong Kong failed to add to their total, losing purpose and direction after the break, and with a second leg at altitude on Tuesday, Andersen is not taking anything for granted.
“We played well in the first half, created a lot of chances and scored goals – and, maybe, should have scored more,” Andersen said.
“I was really scared at half-time, I told the players we needed the same energy in the second half, to not stop pressing and being aggressive and attacking. But we saw … it [energy] wasn’t there. I was not satisfied with the second half.
“We did not have energy for 90 minutes. What is the reason? You have to speculate but I know it. It is difficult for me … to say too much about it.
“It would not have mattered if it was a one-off game that we won 4-0, but we have the second game and that will be dangerous.”
To compound the head coach’s frustration, striker Everton Camargo will miss the second leg because of a knee injury, while defender Vas Nunez has been recalled by Chinese Super League side Dalian Pro.
Michael Udebuluzor, however, will travel despite coming off early on Thursday to protect a hamstring problem.
Udebuluzor, who scored twice against Bhutan, remained “optimistic” he would be fit to start next week. In Nunez’s absence, Andersen has called up midfielder Jesse Yu Joy-yin, a key figure at the Asian Games, and defender and fellow Eastern player Wong Tsz-ho.
“It is really stupid that some leagues have to play in the Fifa period, I cannot understand that,” Andersen said. “This is difficult for us to manage.
“We have a lot of travel, then we face different conditions, with the artificial grass and altitude. But we will do our best to prepare.”
Missing players would not have been a concern, if Hong Kong had sustained their original speed and aggression for the entire first leg.
Andersen was hoping for a significant safety net ahead of a return match that will be played more than 2,000 metres above sea level at Bhutan’s Changlimithang Stadium. A protracted journey, via Thailand and India, and an artificial playing surface, add to the complexity of the task.
The Norwegian, therefore, had his fingers crossed that Udebuluzor would win his fitness race. Bhutan had no answer to the speed, power and movement of the teenager, who struck his double inside the opening 16 minutes.
Camargo, who scored three times in his first two national team matches last month, created the third for Shinichi Chan. A desperate own goal completed the scoring after 35 minutes.
Udebuluzor’s hamstring problem has prevented him playing for his German club, Ingolstadt II, since September 23, but he said his second-half exit was only a precaution.
“I just felt something and did not want to make anything worse, so thought I would be cautious and come off,” Udebuluzor said. “I was injured in Germany, and felt it again, but I am optimistic [about playing on Tuesday].”
