Winning run continues as late goals seal comfortable victory- Rangers 0 Kitchee 3

Written by Adam O'Domhnaill

Summary

Kitchee won their sixth game in a row, and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to nine games. In a scrappy game on a poor quality Tsing Yi pitch, Illarramendi's first time strike from distance just after the half hour put Kitchee ahead. A drab game saw a lack of real chances, but Kitchee's substitutes offered some energy late on, with debutant Anson Wong grabbing an assist for Adrian and a goal (assisted by fellow substitute Mingazow) sealing another three points and a clean sheet.

Line up

Dantas remained banned, with Law and Slattery still injured. Mingazow returned to the bench. Juninho and Jordan Lam came in for Jay Haddow and Yumemi Kanda, as Kitchee switched back to the back three that had served them well in recent games.

Bear; Riera, Jason, Beattie; Juninho (Mingazow 74), Lok (c) (Haddow 74), Illarra, Jordan (Anson 65); Kendy, Leandro (Kanda 65); Adrian (Lung)

Unused subs: Wang, Adrian Chan, Ari Lam

Match events

Adrian hit the bar early from a tight angle, before Kitchee forced Rangers into a wayward shot after a long ball forward. After very few clear cut chances, good recycling of possession from Juninho and Kendy set up Illarra for his first Kitchee goal with a sweetly struck first time strike. Kitchee had had a few half chances in the first half but nothing that properly tested the goalkeeper.

Early in the second half Tan Chun-lok broke free and tested the keeper from a tight angle early in the first half, while the Kitchee defence dealt with another long ball to Ibrahim who posed a few questions. As the game meandered towards a close Kendy played in sub Anson Wong down the left who crossed for Adrian to double the lead. Mingazow then teed up Anson who scored to seal a memorable debut and a 3-0 win. Beattie tested the keeper from range in stoppage time as Kitchee extended the winning run to 6 in a row, and 9 unbeaten in all comps, as Kitchee's away games of the regular season are complete, with Kitchee only dropping two points.

Fan feedback

Calderon's tactical flexibility can be shown in the way the team has seamlessly shifted between a back 3 and a back 4 between games but also from game to game. The three man defence allows Jason Kam to break out of defence but also allows Tan Chun-lok to break forward and support the attack. Sometimes in dull games you need a moment of magic, which Illarramendi provided and was awarded the man of the match award, although in our opinion Adrian Revilla and Tan Chun-lok were also impressive. There is no denying that it was a fairly dull game of football, but Kitchee did not really need to move up a gear, and the late goals gave Kitchee a clinical edge they have maybe been lacking in recent games. Anson Wong, Mingazow and Jay Haddow all impressed off the bench, providing Calderon with something of a selection dilemma for the coming weeks. The team has shown an ability to adapt to player absences and the last two games have emphasised this with Dantas being suspended, showing a strength in depth and trust in the fringe players not seen by Kitchee managers in recent years. Fans still discuss whether another signing or two could be required; either another centre back as cover or another player to take the workload off Adrian, who has played over ninety percent of Kitchee's minutes.

What's next

Seven 'home' games in a row at Tseung Kwan O, starting next Sunday. 3pm, 25th January against Tai Po. The league then splits after these games, and Kitchee will hope to keep momentum and put themselves in a strong position to claim a first league title in three years. Kitchee currently lead Lee Man by nine points (albeit they have two games in hand and still have to play Kitchee again) and lead Tai Po by ten points.

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Match highlights