Hong Kong seal tri-nations glory as late Matt Orr goal earns draw against hosts Fiji
Hong Kong win mini-tournament on goal difference, giving boss Westwood unbeaten start ahead of October clashes with Liechtenstein, Cambodia
Matt Orr scored for the second straight game to earn Hong Kong a 1-1 draw from a bruising, low-quality clash with Fiji on Sunday.
The hosts scored inside 60 seconds at Churchill Park in Lautoka, and until striker Orr equalised after 77 minutes it appeared Hong Kong’s ploy of lining up a series of lowly opponents to improve their world ranking was going to come unstuck.
Orr, who ended a 20-match goal drought with a penalty in Thursday’s 3-0 victory over Solomon Islands, came to the rescue when he controlled a cutback from fellow substitute Wong Wai, then swatted a low drive inside substitute goalkeeper Jerome Narayan’s left post.
The result was enough for Hong Kong to win the tri-nations competition, by virtue of their superior goal difference over the Fijians.
The hosts were as physical and uncompromising as Hong Kong assistant coach Wolfgang Luisser had predicted 24 hours before the match, with plenty of tactical fouling.
Hong Kong’s solitary first-half chance fell to Michael Udebuluzor, but the centre-forward’s slight contact on Juninho’s left-wing delivery allowed Fiji goalkeeper Akuila Mateisuva to save.
