Unfancied Hong Kong shocked a young Japan side in the final of the football at the East Asian Games on Saturday, winning 4-2 on penalties in front of a fanatical sell-out crowd. Defender Wong Chin Hung was the hero for Hong Kong, scoring the decisive penalty under enormous pressure to send nearly 40,000 home fans delirious after the game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes of stalemate.
"I'm really, really happy and the big support was a major power for us tonight," said Hong Kong's South Korean coach, Kim Pan-Gon. "The support was really crucial, especially in the penalties. "And thanks also to the players - they died for Hong Kong tonight. It was a great night.
"I don't know very well the Hong Kong history but I heard this is the first time to be champions of a big competition." The Japanese, represented by their under-20 team, took the lead as early as the 22nd minute at a vociferous and partisan Hong Kong Stadium, defender Taisuke Muramatsu scoring unchallenged from close range.
Japan had the quality but Hong Kong the spirit and the home support, and two minutes after half-time the East Asian Games hosts and surprise finalists were level, substitute striker Chan Siu Ki heading home from close range. Chan, Hong Kong's star player, rushed back from training with English Premier League side Spurs especially for the match, which neither team really deserved to win in normal time or the 30 minutes extra period.
Chan said he had only jetted back into Hong Kong five hours before the match. "I was a little bit tired but the boss arranged first class for me," he added, labelling the victory "a dream". Unheralded Hong Kong had already disposed of North and South Korea on the way to their unexpected appearance in the final. Japan coach Akihiro Nishimura said his players had lacked "quality". "We didn't really play our game tonight and couldn't get into goal scoring positions."