Fiji endured a humbling 8-0 defeat at the hands of Hong Kong in their final King’s Cup match in Thailand last night.
The result was made worse by two costly red cards that left the team with just nine men before the half-time whistle.
The heavy loss was a dramatic turnaround from the 1-1 draw between the two teams 12 months ago, and marked a disappointing end to Fiji’s campaign in a tournament that also featured hosts Thailand and Asian heavyweights Iraq.
The turning point came midway through the first half when Fiji captain Ratu Waranaivalu was shown a red card for an off-the-ball elbow to the face of Hong Kong’s Ngan Cheuk-pan.
Nine minutes later, Ilisoni Logaivau followed him off the pitch after another reckless elbow, this time into the stomach of the same player, leaving Fiji to battle with two fewer players for more than an hour.
Hong Kong took full advantage, scoring their opening goal in the 18th minute just after the first dismissal.
With Fiji’s defence unraveling, they piled on five goals before half-time and three more after the break.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Fiji had one golden chance to pull a goal back. Mohammed Ali was played through on goal but was denied by Hong Kong’s veteran goalkeeper Yapp Hung-fai in a moment that summed up Fiji’s misfiring night.
Hong Kong midfielder Jesse Yu Joy-yin scored twice in the first half, with Everton Camargo contributing one goal and four assists. The dominant win ended Hong Kong’s four-match losing streak and secured them third place in the tournament.
