One cup win, one cup defeat, Wookie returns and two crucial games for Hong Kong

Its been a busy few weeks, with Kitchee taking part in two domestic cup competitions, and Hong Kong having two crucial games with Bangladesh. Read our reports below to find out how the boys got on.

Summary

Kitchee 2 North District 3

Team news

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee made two changes to the starting lineup, with Tan Chun-lok returning from suspension and Juninho coming in from the bench, with Law and Lung making way. Mingazow was rested with an eye on bigger games ahead. Haddow dropped back to right back allowing Lok to move into midfield, and Illarramendi continued to watch from the bench.

Wang; Haddow, Riera, Dantas, Beattie (Law 69); Martinez, Lok (c), Juninho; Kanda (Lung 60), Adrian, Kendy (Jordan 77)

Match highlights

Photo by Scoop

Wang had to be alert early, making a few early saves, before Kendy and Martinez both went close to giving Kitchee the lead. After a mixup in midfield, Haddow's last gasp tackle kept it 0-0. Five minutes before the break Vinicius gave North District the lead with a tapin, as Wang could only parry out Kayke David's longshot. But right on the verge of half time Adrian Revilla got his second goal in two games, heading in Beattie's outstanding cross from deep on the left hand side. In stoppage time Leandro Martinez was fouled, and Adrian converted to give Kitchee a fortunate lead. In the second half Wang kept Kitchee ahead with numerous saves, before Kitchee blew the chance to extend the lead. Rather than shooting Adrian selflessly laid the ball off to Juninho, who fired wide. More saves were needed from Wang as North District were relentless, and going into the last ten minutes Kitchee were still narrowly in front. North District got a slightly fortunate penalty for a foul by Martinez, converted by substitute Weverton. Two minutes later some pinball in the Kitchee box allowed Granada to fire home a winner, and they could have further extended the lead in the dying moments. Kitchee will leave disappointed with North District's late comeback, but the men from Sheung Shui played very well and had many more chances throughout the game, although they did pick up seven bookings for some tactical fouling, particularly towards the end of the game.

League Cup

Team news

Photo by SportsRoad

Kitchee made six changes from the Senior Shield clash. Tan Chun-lok and Juninho were off with Hong Kong, and Jay Haddow had a minor leg injury. Wang, Dantas and Beattie also dropped to the bench. In their place, Enikar came in for a debut, with Jason Kam making his first start of the season, and seventeen year old Ari Lam playing only his second senior game. Cheng Chin-lung, Jordan Lam and Law Tsz-chun also came in. The bigger excitement was on the bench, with Illarramendi making his first match day squad for Kitchee, and Kim Shin-wook in a Kitchee squad for the first time in nearly two years. Bear remained out although is set to return in the next month or so.

Enikar; Law (c), Jason (Beattie 67), Riera; Ari, Lung (Siu Hin 67), Martinez, Jordan; Kanda (Kim 85), Adrian (Slattery 79), Kendy

Match highlights

Credits to Sing Tao

Law dawdled on the ball, and Ibrahim broke, but smart goalkeeping and defenders rushing back prevented disaster. Kitchee played a long ball forward which the Rangers keeper headed away, and Kanda's first time effort from range drifted harmlessly wide. Rangers definitely favoured a direct approach, and Lau Chi-lok went close. Martinez and Ari Lam both saw efforts saved, before Kanda missed an open goal on the rebound, after Adrian's shot was saved.

Soon after halftime, a nice 1-2 between Kanda and Adrian saw Kanda give Kitchee the lead. But a hospital pass from riera saw lung easily dispossessed, and Kitchee were fortunate Ibrahim couldn't finish. With fifteen minutes to go Adrian and Kanda linked up again, with the latter crossing for Kendy to score. Rangers pushed but could not get back into the game. With five minutes remaining the biggest cheer of the afternoon came when Kim Shin-wook made his first senior Kitchee appearance in over 18 months, and in stoppage time he headed in Kendy's corner sparking slightly ironic celebrations in the crowd. The game ended 3-0, and Kitchee advance to take on Kowloon City in the semifinals in March

Fan feedback

Fans were generally not too worried about exiting the Senior Shield, as much bigger trophies are still in play. Some thought Calderon's substitutions were a bit naive and invited pressure, and there was less scope to push on after they scored twice late on. Kitchee couldn't get much going.

Photo by Scoop

For the League Cup, it is also not really seen as a major trophy, but fans were happy that fringe players got a run out. Kitchee were exposed for a pace a bit at the back, but the attacking trio of Adrian, Kendy and Kanda combined repeatedly, with all three assisting and the latter two scoring. With no Mingazow and Juninho this week, it shows Kitchee have a bit more depth and there is less need to run those players into the ground. The goalscoring return of Kim Shin-wook shocked a lot of fans, and it remains to be seen how much more he may feature this season. Post match comments suggested he will retire at the end of the season, but also showed that Calderon was keen to use him provided Wookie's desire was still there. The celebrations from his teammates showed that no matter the complications of his time at the club, he is a popular figure in the squad.

Bangladesh 3 Hong Kong 4 

A crazy game saw Hong Kong conceding and scoring in stoppage time to win. Juninho played the whole game, while Lok was brought off in stoppage time.

Hong Kong 1 Bangladesh 1

A much less chaotic match in the boisterous atmosphere of a closed-roof Kai Tak. Juninho started (playing 86 mins), alongside six former Kitchee players. One of these, Matt Orr, captained and scored a first half penalty while another, Oli Gerbig, saw red for two bookable offences, which was Hong Kong's first red card since Tan Chun-lok (who came on for the final fifteen minutes) was sent off against Lebanon nearly eight years ago.

What's next

Tai Po away. A game with a lot on the line against the defending champions. Winning in early 2025 was only Kitchee's second win there in over seven years, albeit for some of that time Tai Po were in the second tier. Perhaps we will see the long-awaited debut of Asier Illarramendi, as Kitchee look to continue to push forward in the league.

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Kitchee vs North District highlights

Kitchee vs Rangers highlights

Bangladesh vs Hong Kong highlights

Hong Kong vs Bangladesh highlights