Valencia keeper Rameez (Timo) was the busy one in the first half where he was forced into action in the 8th minute to save a shot from Shahril.
Five minutes later a shot from Peres sailed over the cross bar for a goal kick.
In the 16th minute once again Timo kept Valencia alive by saving a shot from Ludovick and the defenders cleared the loose ball.
Valencia’s first attempt on goal came three minutes later from right back Shareer, whose shot from outside the penalty area was punched away to a corner by keeper Ridzuan.
In the 24th minute Timo superbly saved a close range shot from Ludovick.
Valencia went close in the 35th minute but Marceline’s powerful and accurate low shot was saved to a corner by keeper.
Valencia was much stronger in the attack after the break and created some very open chances to break the deadlock.
In the 48th minute Shiyam (Dhona) picked a well timed through ball from Yameen but failed to make a damage due to pressure from opponent defenders.
In the 54th minute Marceline missed a golden opportunity. Nashid passed the ball to unmarked Marceline from inside the penalty area but his weak shot went over the cross bar.
Six minutes later Shiyam was few inches behind to reach Shareer’s timely cross.
Then in the 68th minute Timo misjudged a right flank cross from Home United while Jameel also missed it and unmarked Peres picked the ball and sent the ball to an empty net to take the lead.
After the goal Home United improved and created couple of chances to increase their lead, however Timo did quite well between the sticks.
After the match, Valencia’s coach Dzurjack said that they could have surprised the opponents.
“I don’t think we deserve to lose today. We could have surprised the opponents and grab something from the game”.
“My boys tried very hard and I am proud of them. I think today, the team performed close to their maximum level”.
“We should understand that today’s opponent is really strong. They outplayed us in some periods of the game, but the team performed really well to stop it”
Dzurjack again highlighted that the main disadvantage for the team is lack of international match experience.
“A few of our players have played an international game. We don’t have any international match experience and that’s a contributing factor. “
“Before the start of the season I asked the management that we have to retain Mukhthaar (Two kilo) and Bakaa. And we need to get the signature of Assad and his brother Akram. But we couldn’t hold Two kilo and Bakaa and we only managed to get Assad. If we had them, we could be a very competitive side”
Meanwhile, Home United’s coach Sivaji was left frustrated because of the lack of sharpness in his striking force.
“We had 24 shots and out of them only 12 were on target. We had a good possession football today as I asked from the players, but we lacked a little bit of sharpness. We could not convert all those chances in to goals”
“The weather definitely helped us today. The pitch condition is excellent. The drainage system in the grounds is superb. I first thought that we could not play a good passing game after such a heavy rain. But it was the other way. The ball moved fast and it helped us for a good passing game. “
About the prospect of moving in to the next round, Sivaji said that they would take one game at a time.
“The teams in the group are very competitive. I must say Bing Duong is the strongest and Electricity Club also is very competitive. Valencia could upset any team. So we can’t be sure at this stage. We must take each game at a time.”
Sivaji was also full of praise for Valencia keeper Tim for his superb form today.
"Their goal keeper was fantastic today. He made some remarkable saves"
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