Five goals but definitely not a 5 star performance- Sham Shui Po Review

Article by Adam O'Domhnaill

Kitchee's line-up pregame

Team news

As expected, there was rotation from the ACL match on Wednesday night, with some tired bodies getting a rest. Russell, Shinichi, Igor and Poon came in for Helio, Fernando, Cleiton and Jantscher respectively. Paulo; TC Law (C), Gerbig, Russell, Shinichi; Scott (Huang Yang 69), Tan Chun Lok (Cleiton 46); Igor (Jantscher 46), Mikael (Cheng Ching Lung 80), Mingazow (Fernando 69); Poon.

Bluewave supporters

Match highlights

To say the first half was poor would be an understatement. Kitchee could not get any attacking play going, as players looked laggy from the ACL game on Wednesday night. Very few chances of note were created by either side, and Sham Shui Po were holding Kitchee to a goalless draw by the time the half time whistle sounded. It is fair to say Kitchee’s fanbase were not at all impressed. 

Coach Kim made a double sub at half time, bringing on Cleiton in midfield and Jakob Jantscher up front; the latter of these moves moved Poon out to the right hand side. Still the game went on, with Kitchee getting more and more frustrated by Sham Shui Po’s solid defending. Just before the hour mark, Mikael eventually opened the scoring with a free kick from just outside the box; he soon doubled his tally before Charlie Scott scored a customary long range effort from a well worked corner routine. Kitchee had suddenly gone from 0-0 to 3-0 in the space of seven minutes, and while fans were undeniably irritated at how long it took for the first goal to come, they became more settled.

Into the closing ten minutes of the game, Kitchee were still only 3-0 up, but goals from Mikael for his hat trick and Poon put Kitchee five goals to the good. There was still time for Sham Shui Po’s Kenyan striker Ismael Dunga to score a stoppage time consolation, as Sham Shui Po hit Kitchee on the counter, ruining the clean sheet. A far from perfect performance, despite the comfortable margin of victory.

Fernando running down the wing

Competition progress

Kitchee’s victory moved us back into second place, four points off Lee Man with a game in hand. Kitchee fans were pleased to see rivals Eastern take points off Lee Man and help Kitchee catch up. In this disjointed season, Kitchee do not play again in the league until a Friday 24th November against Southern at Mong Kok. This win put an end to Kitchee's losing run, and hopefully can be followed up in the Senior Shield next week.

Jantscher on the ball in the second half

Fans feedback

A win is a win, but it was far from perfect. Kitchee’s inability to break down a stubborn but ultimately poor quality Sham Shui Po defence left players, staff and fans annoyed at half time. Kitchee did find more gears in the second half, and Mikael notched up his second hat trick of the season. He is now on eleven goals for the season in all competitions.

In the first half, Kitchee’s desire did not seem to be there. Only Charlie Scott and Poon Pui Hin seemed to be playing at 100% energy and commitment. For Scott, many fans are very happy with the way he has responded to not playing in the first two ACL games, putting in a solid performance in midweek and contributing a goal and great desire before being substituted in the second half this weekend. Sham Shui Po are not a great side this season but posed problems for our defence with clever running, as well as negating our attacking threats- our squad is old and possibly more rotation was needed from midweek.

Yet again, there was no sign of Damcevski, Onazi or Kim Shin-Wook in the matchday squad. While we are led to believe Damcevski and Wookie are injured, Onazi has not featured since being hauled off halfway through the defeat to Lion City. Damcevski’s last contribution to Kitchee was being destroyed by Everton at Lee Man. Wookie has only played twice this campaign, with a first half hat trick against HKFC in the league and a missed panenka penalty off the bench against RCFC in the Sapling Cup. This trio came to Kitchee with high expectations and high wages, and have all flopped massively. Fans hope that departure discussions, probably contract terminations are on the horizon, so that Kitchee can use the money to fund signings of players more suitable for Kitchee’s playing style. This trio are far from the first foreign players to struggle to adapt to Hong Kong, but it would be a huge shock if all three complete the season at the club. 

Poon celebrates his goal to put Kitchee 5-0 up

What’s next for Kitchee

Next up for us is Resources Capital (RCFC) in the Senior Shield, as we seek to win the trophy for the second season in a row. HKFA’s scheduling means that this game will be taking place at neutral venue Tai Po Sports Ground, on Saturday 4th November at 3pm. Here at Angry Boundary Street prediction we predict a comprehensive victory for Kitchee, hopefully by a similar margin to today's game, but with a better performance, giving us more momentum going into the away game in Bangkok.

Andy Russell battling in the second half

Photo credits today to Paul Hendren, his Instagram is @insidemfa. Go check out his page for more football related content .