Hong Kong boss Andersen hails atmosphere fans created in Mong Kok, considers moving games to smaller venue
- Hong Kong won their opening game against Guangdong in front of a 5,000-strong crowd at Mong Kok Stadium
- Jorn Andersen says playing in front of same crowd at 40,000 seat Hong Kong Stadium ‘feels like an away game’
Jorn Andersen would support moving Hong Kong’s home games away from the city’s 40,000-seat stadium, after home fans created a hostile atmosphere in the more intimate surrounds of Mong Kok.
While the thousands of fans who regularly attend the city’s international matches are swallowed up in the larger venue, their presence in the 6,664-seat stadium in Kowloon created an energy the Hong Kong players visibly responded to, and that ruffled their opponents.
A 5,000-strong crowd cheered the home side on throughout Wednesday’s 2-0 win over a Guangdong XI, and with World Cup qualifiers coming up in March, Andersen said he had previously thought about making the change.
“I was thinking about it [playing at Mong Kok] some months ago, and maybe it is easier for the players to play here,” Andersen said. “They regularly play here in the league, especially the Kitchee and Eastern players [it is those clubs’ home venue].
“They know this ground better than Hong Kong Stadium, it is almost like an away game when we go to Hong Kong Stadium. You saw they like playing here, with this atmosphere, and maybe we have to think about it [playing at Mong Kok] for the future.”
The scheduling of the two-leg Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, returning after a five-year hiatus, appeared ill-conceived at the outset, given it’s proximity to the Asian Cup and a representative team’s game against Inter Miami.