Hong Kong beat Laos 4-0 in the ASEAN Cup's Division 2, stage 2, on Saturday evening. The hosts dominated from the opening whistle, scoring twice in the first half and adding two more after the break. It was a comprehensive victory that left little doubt about who controlled the game.
Sun Ming-Him opened the scoring in the twelfth minute, and Everton Camargo doubled the lead just before half-time. Luis Eduardo Chebel Klein Nunes extended the advantage in the fifty-fifth minute, and Matthew Elliot Wing Kai Chin Orr sealed it from the penalty spot in the first minute of stoppage time. To be fair, the game was effectively over by then.
There were two yellow cards in the match, one for each side. Walter Soares Belitardo Júnior went into the book in the thirty-seventh minute, and Bounphachan Bounkong followed eight minutes later. Both teams made heavy substitutions, with Hong Kong bringing on Raphaël Merkies and Everton Camargo among others.
The statistics tell the story of one-sided control. Hong Kong held 71 per cent possession and registered eleven shots on target compared to Laos' zero. The hosts had twenty-three shots within the penalty area and eight corners, while the visitors managed just one corner and failed to find the net with any of their two attempts off target.
We had backed Laos to win with seventy per cent confidence, but the match went the other way. What broke the prediction was Hong Kong's efficiency in front of goal, taking eleven efforts on target and converting four. Laos' goalkeeper saved eight times but never faced a shot on target in open play.
The result leaves Hong Kong in second place on the table, though they have played zero matches so the standings remain empty. Laos sit top after one game, one win and three points, but this afternoon showed they had nothing to do all evening against a full-strength Hong Kong side.
