Kitchee bounce back with comprehensive victory over North District.

Credits to Tony

Kitchee looked to bounce back from the 0-0 draw with Eastern, and get their title ambitions back on track. First up was North District at home on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Kitchee had Fernando, Paulo and Mingazow still out injured, and made five changes from the derby day draw. Shinichi and Roberto replaced Ramic and Russell in defence, Tan Chun-lok replaced Scott in midfield, and Janstcher and Juninho came in for Poon Pui-hin and Mikael, as Kitchee switched to a 4-2-3-1. 

Lineup: Wang Zhenpeng, TC Law, Roberto, Helio (c), Shinichi; Tan Chun-lok (Cheng Chin-lung 82), Cleiton (Scott 82); Juninho, Jantscher (Mikael 56), Igor (Poon Pui-hin 73); Temirov.

Match details

Credits to Scoop

Kitchee had the best of the early exchanges, with Roberto heading onto the crossbar from Igor Sartori's corner. Jakob Jantscher opened the scoring after eighteen minutes. After being teed up by Juninho, the Austrian, playing in a number 10 role saw his shot blocked, before he struck home the rebound, for his first league goal since September. Kendy almost equalised direct from a corner, before Cleiton's ball across the face of the goal was somehow not turned in by either Temirov or Igor Sartori. In first half stoppage time Temirov's work rate allowed him to beat Carles Tena to the ball, and the Uzbek forward teed up Juninho. After miskicking the first effort the forward recovered to double Kitchee's advantage, and responded by shushing critical fans in the process.

Credits to Scoop

Temirov hit the bar with a header from an Igor Sartori cross, before a great save from Wang Zhenpeng kept Kitchee's clean sheet intact. After initially being disallowed for offside, Mikael's header from Cleiton's freekick was given, extending Kitchee's lead with twenty minutes to go. Wang Zhenpeng continued to impress, before good work from Cheng Chin-lung set up Juninho for a tap in as the game came to a close. Poon Pui-hin thought he had added a fifth in stoppage time, but was ruled offside. Four goals and a clean sheet, and while not perfect, after the disjointed attack last week.

Fan feedback

The slight change of system brought about a better performance from Jantscher, but without a proper striker (birthday boy Kim Shin-wook nowhere to be seen again) it is futile, as none of Kitchee's attacking options are comfortable playing through the middle. Some fans argue that switching to a false nine system with more attacking fluidity may suit Kitchee's squad better, but it would be very late in the season to make such a tactical switch. As fans it is hard to tell what tactics the side have been sent out to implement; Jantscher's positional switch meant that Kitchee were quicker on the ball, but the defence was more exposed. Kitchee missed a number of good chances that would have made victory even more comfortable, especially Temirov. The Uzbek forward is a workhouse and his perseverance set up Kitchee's second goal for Juninho, who shushed fans who criticised him for messing up the first shot, appearing too over confident. Kitchee got an early goal which helped in keeping Northern out of the game, something which they have struggled with in recent weeks. After two tight Sapling Cup games and allowing Northern back into the game in the reverse fixture, the 4-0 win was a welcome change. Igor still looks short of confidence, but owing to injuries and fitness concerns with other forwards he is playing almost every game. Juninho being given the ball by the midfield allowed Law to make runs down the right hand side and provide crosses. But Kitchee will struggle against Eastern, Lee Man and potentially Southern as well this season if they cannot figure out how to make the attack flow better.

Credits to Scoop

North District had chances, exposing our slow centre backs on occasion, and really should have scored. Wang Zhenpeng proved immense in keeping Kitchee's clean sheet intact, helped by some lacklustre finishing. With Paulo only featuring twice since November, the experienced stopper continued his run in the starting lineup. Cleiton will miss the next two games, including the crucial top of the table clash with Tai Po, after another booking brings him to ten in domestic competitions. Shinichi Chan was good down the left hand side, linking well with our forwards. The heat will play a huge factor in upcoming games, with many of Kitchee's remaining fixtures scheduled for 3pm kick offs. Charlie Scott was on the bench today, possibly due to the heat and the assumption that other players function better in the warmer climate. Tan Chun-lok got a start and had mixed fan reviews about whether he can be the holding midfielder moving forward. With Cleiton's upcoming suspension, Lok will likely start in the crucial match against Tai Po this weekend.

What's next

Credits to Scoop

Five games of the league season to go, starting with the tricky trip to Tai Po on Saturday at 3pm. Kitchee have not won there in the league since 2018. A big test of character ahead if we are to retain our title from last season.

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Written by Adam O'Domhnaill