Undoubtedly, the factors behind Hong Kong's 1-3 defeat on the road were intricate. It was not only because head coach Muscat made mistakes in tactical deployment, but also closely related to the enforcement style of the West Asian referee team. In the match, the six-member team led by Qatari referee Farahi brought unprecedented challenges to the Hong Kong team with his unique enforcement style.
Against the backdrop of a refereeing bias that encourages intense confrontation, Kawasaki's players were able to make bold high tackles for the ball, an attitude of enforcement that favored the home team and made Hong Kong doubly uncomfortable. This style of refereeing, which is very different from that of the Chinese Super League referees, made the Hong Kong team experience unprecedented discomfort during the match.
As a result, many Harbour fans firmly believe that if the Chinese Super League referees had enforced the law in the match, the result might have been different. The Harbour team might not have suffered such obvious targeting and the players would have received fair treatment from the referee when they were infringed upon.
When the Ports fell behind 0-3, the Qatari referee seemed to start adjusting his scale of enforcement. Toward the end of the second half, he began to call frequent fouls on Kawasaki Striker. However, the red card awarded to Kawasaki Striker also seemed to suggest that the referee was deficient in match control. Whether or not the Hong Kong team will file a complaint to the AFC after the match has become the focus of fans' attention.
After losing 1-3 to Kawasaki Frontale on the road, HKG must adjust their strategy quickly. The team needs to learn from this loss and identify and solve the problems by analyzing the game footage and strengthening training. Even though the Chinese Super League season is over, the Hong Kong team still has to cope with the double fronts. Not only do they have to compete in the AFC Champions League, but they will also have to fight against Shandong Taishan for the FA Cup title at the end of this month.
Observing the current situation, although the Seaports did not have an easy time in the AFC Champions League, they still have top strength back home. As long as they play at their true level, they are expected to beat Shandong Taishan and win the first Chinese Super League title in the club's history.
