Matt Orr and Everton Camargo are names that will go down in Hong Kong sporting history. They scored the two goals that decided the FIFA ASEAN Challenge Cup final, securing the first official trophy ever won by Hong Kong’s senior national team. The final against Cambodia was played at Kai Tak Stadium and ended 2-0. Before this success, Hong Kong had won only friendly tournaments. Now there is a trophy in the cabinet, and one of real significance. This was the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Challenge Cup, a competition created by FIFA as a second tier to the ASEAN Cup, whose own first edition also began this year, with eight teams from South-East Asia taking part.
In front of their home crowd, Hong Kong looked the more positive side from the outset, and ultimately the stronger one too. They controlled the first half, created several chances and finally broke the deadlock four minutes before the interval, when Orr put the hosts ahead. It was a lead they had more than earned. The second half followed much the same pattern, with Hong Kong continuing to control the game and doubling their lead just after the hour through Camargo, who converted from the penalty spot. Cambodia had little choice but to raise the tempo, but in the end they could not alter the scoreline, let alone the course of the match.
The 31,000 supporters inside Kai Tak Stadium had backed their national team throughout the game, then watched them lift the first senior trophy in the history of Hong Kong football. For a side that rarely gets the chance to compete for an official title, it was a moment a long time in the making. FIFA president Gianni Infantino was there for the trophy presentation, having arrived in Hong Kong a few hours earlier to attend the final. Several minutes before the final whistle, the crowd had already given itself over to the celebrations, breaking into the chant “Campeones, Campeones, olé olé olé”. The players heard it loud and clear, as Oliver Gerbig, one of the home side’s most recognisable players, told the official FIFA website. “The fans were already going crazy when there was still a little time left,” Gerbig said, “but we managed to stay focused. In football, things can change very quickly, but the atmosphere was incredible and really carried us through. It’s always like that when we play at home. The roar of Kai Tak Stadium pushes you to give everything.”
Orr, the scorer of the opening goal, was equally taken by the occasion. “This stadium is incredible, and we want to turn it into a real fortress. Winning with this national team was unbelievable. We don’t usually have many opportunities to win official trophies, but this time we took our chance and made history. It’s a memory we’ll carry with us for the rest of our lives.” Just like the football fans of Hong Kong, who had never seen their national team win a title of this stature. Now they have.