KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah advanced to the next stage of the AFC Champions League playoff round after they demolished Hong Kong's Tai Po 5-1 in Tuesday's clash at Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Star.
Despite the two teams being in contrasting period of the season with Kedah still in pre-season while Tai Po are in the middle of theirs, the away side proved no match for the 2019 Malaysia FA Cup champions.
New signing Tchetche Kipre grabbed an impressive hat-trick in his competitive debut match for The Red Eagles, scoring in the third, 21st and 90th minutes.
Fellow debutant Hadin Azman, signed from Felda United, scored twice (47th and 66th) in the second half to seal a comprehensive win for Aidil Sharin Sahak's side.
Tai Po temporarily gave themselves a shout in the 68th minute when Chan Man Fai narrowed the deficit to 4-1 but it was too big a mountain for the Hong Kong team.
This match also saw Aidil handing Filipino Amin Nazari and Liberian Kpah Sherman their debut starts, with both players playing a crucial part in the victory.
With the win, Kedah booked their place in the next qualifying round, which is a difficult away trip to South Korea's FC Seoul on Jan 28.
The Korean side qualified by virtue of being the third-placed finisher in the K-League 1 in 2019, and will undoubtedly be a far tougher opponent than Tai Po.