DILI (9 Oct 2016) – Timor Leste head coach Fernando Alcantara has kept it positive in spite of their close 2-1 loss to Chinese Taipei in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying play-off last night in Kaohsiung.
The fact that it was Timor Leste who grabbed the lead despite fielding a handful of young Turks gave Alcantara certain positive vibes ahead of the second leg on Tuesday at the same venue.
And certainly it has also given the Timorese a good workout ahead of the qualifying round of the AFF Suzuki Cup next Saturday.
“Congratulations to Chinese Taipei who won the game, but I feel we didn’t deserve to lose,” said Alcantara.
“We started the game well and had more control in the second half. I was surprised at the way we finished the game because we were pressing and controlled the ball a lot in the second half.
“We had a lot of young players on the pitch and were missing three or four experienced heads. I was so proud of them all and their performance bodes well for the future.”
Rufino Walter Gama had given Timor Leste the lead after just five minutes with a low drive before a double from Wu Chun-ching gave Chinese Taipei the hard fought win.
