Welthon's stoppage time brace seals victory over HKFC- Kitchee 4 HKFC 0

Kitchee made hard work of a well-drilled HKFC side, requiring two stoppage time goals from Welthon to ensure a comfortable win. Aaron Rey scored early on to open his Kitchee account, before Ngan Cheuk-pan doubled the lead after the hour mark, as HKFC improved massively from losing 8-0 in the same fixture last year. 

Team news

Kitchee made four changes; Jay Haddow had recovered from concussion, and came in to replace Tan Chun-lok in defensive midfield, with the latter ruled out by a knee injury. Helio continued to be unavailable, as did Kim Shin-wook. Law and Fernando came in at fullback, and the in-form Sherzod Temirov was rewarded for his cameos off the bench with a start. Mingazow dropped out of the matchday squad, and Diego Bardanca made a return to the side from the bench, having not featured since the Southern match. Seventeen year old Tom Yeung made his Kitchee league debut in the closing stages, having made seven substitute appearances in the Sapling Cup last season.

Talley; Law (c) (Lung 59), Ngan, Jones, Fernando (Bardanca 74); Haddow (Lam 59), Rey, Juninho (Poon 74); Temirov, Welthon, Machado (Yeung 89)

Subs: Wang, Chen, Buddle, Tuscany, Slattery, Jason

Match highlights

Kitchee got off to a flier with Aaron Rey opened the scoring after five minutes, after being played in by Welthon. This was the Spaniard's first goal for Kitchee. Kitchee pushed for a second, in scenes reminiscent of last season's 8-0 win, where Kitchee were 6-0 up in half an hour. But the young HKFC side marshalled by veterans Freddie Toomer, Toby Down and former Kitchee man Andy Russell have professionalised this season, and the increased training intensity was apparent, preventing Welthon and Temirov from doubling Kitchee's lead. HKFC almost scored a shocking equaliser as Kitchee's determination to play out from the back almost cost them; Talley received the ball back from Leon Jones, but his attempted long clearance was charged down in the box, but the Englishman was able to recover and keep the score at 1-0. As the first half drew to a close Juninho and Aaron Rey both had the ball in the back of the net, but were both denied by marginal (but correct) offside decisions. HKFC went close again with Russell's header across goal almost being prodded in, but Kitchee stayed in the lead at half time, although fans were definitely expecting more having scored fourteen goals in the two previous games.

Soon after half time Talley's long ball fell to Aaron Rey, who was brought down on the edge of the box. At this time HKFC captain Toomer came off injured, being replaced by twenty year old Estlinbaum for his league debut. After a couple of Kitchee changes, with Haddow and Law being replaced by Lung and Jordan Lam, a clever Kitchee corner routine saw Machado's cross headed in by Ngan Cheuk-pan, and the academy graduate scored his first goal for almost two years. As the second half went on Estlinbaum kept the score at 2-0, denying Welthon and Juninho amongst others, while HKFC offered precious little going forward. Kitchee brought on Bardanca for his first game in almost a month, and handed a league debut to Tom Yeung. As the full time whistle came into view, Welthon's header was deemed to have crossed the line in stoppage time for a 3-0 lead. Good work by Poon in regaining possession resulted in him crossing to the back post for Welthon to seal the 4-0 win in the ninety sixth minute.

Fan feedback

Three wins in a row, and five unbeaten to start the season. The score line did not reflect how easy the game was; HKFC did not collapse after conceding an early goal like before, but did not offer much threat throughout the match, save for a few set pieces. Kitchee were wasteful in the first half, not getting shots away in good areas, and having two goals called back for marginal offsides. It did show that Kitchee has not figured out a way to effectively attack against teams who sit deeper. The attack linked up nicely but did not create enough clearcut chances, which will need to improve against better sides. Welthon had two goals and an assist, and both he and Temirov are scoring at a rate of a goal a game. The contrasting styles did not quite link up as well this week, but having both the technicality of Welthon and the work rate of Temirov stands us in good stead.

Ngan Cheuk-pan's goal put the game to bed in the second half and deflated HKFC. Welthon's stoppage time double applied some gloss to the scoreline that made it more accurately reflect the game. Talley was lucky not to concede after the playing out from the back backfired, and some fans feel that using Wang in some games would help, to free up another foreign player spot outfield. However, Talley is young and in a new league, and Kitchee have used eight defenders across five combinations so far this season. The constant change will not help a young goalkeeper. Jay Haddow played in midfield for the first time since his Kitchee academy days and put in a shift, but whether this is a long term strategy is unclear for the time being. Cardoso is still finding his best side, and it is very possible it will continue to change game by game for the foreseeable future.

Fans are pleased to see Cardoso giving minutes to fringe players and building them up; after two effective cameos from Chen Ngo-hin, Tom Yeung made his league debut. Last season Kitchee academy graduates of all ages only played around 1700 minutes, but after five games this season graduates have played nearly 800 minutes, aided by the return of Ngan Cheuk-pan from his loan and Cheng Chin-lung having a more prominent role. Last season Kitchee's reliance on aging players cost them, and giving squad players minutes, especially those who came through our academy, can only be a good thing. Even if the result is already secured, if provides good squad depth and in the case of young players, shows that the coaches think they are ready to play at this level.

Despite eighteen goals in three games, fans are not getting complacent, with Tai Po away and Lee Man at home to follow in the next month. Will Cardoso and Kitchee keep the same tactical approach? Or adapt to deal with the different challenges these opponents pose. Brazilian centre back Matheus Dantas was pictured in the crowd, and on paper looks to be more suited to Kitchee's play style than Diego Bardanca. Dantas was in the academies at Sao Paulo and Flamengo in Brazil, before taking in spells in Belgium, Portugal and Cyprus. We wait and see when (or if) he is officially announced as a Kitchee player.

What's next

No Kitchee game until 19th October (Tai Po away). In the meantime Hong Kong play away in Liechtenstein on the 10th (1.30am on the 11th HKT on on.cc) and at home to Cambodia (15th). The Cambodia game will be at Hong Kong Stadium but no ticket information is available yet. Leon Jones, Juninho, Fernando, Ngan Cheuk-pan and Poon Pui-hin are our players selected. After the international break, Kitchee travel to Tai Po on the 19th October, which will be a big test of the squad.

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Match highlights

Dominant second half display gives Kitchee huge midweek win- Kitchee 6 Kowloon City 1

Credits to Scoop

After a drab first half, with Welthon breaking the deadlock just before half time, Kitchee turned on the style after the break. Temirov was man of the match with his hat trick off the bench, Machado added another goal to his tally and in the dying moments Chen Ngo-hin scored his first goal for Kitchee.

Team news

Credits to Scoop

Kitchee made two changes from the weekend's rout of Rangers. Jay Haddow was ruled out through concussion, and Law Tsz-chun dropped to the bench, with Bae Jae-woo and Ngan Cheuk-pan coming into the side. Tan Chun-lok captained the side from the start for the first time. Helio and Kim Shin-wook continued to be longterm absentees, and three of our young players remained in Qatar with the U20s.

Talley; Bae, Ngan, Jones (Law 80), Lam (Fernando 68); Lok (c), Juninho (Lung 46), Rey (Temirov 46); Machado, Welthon (Chen 68), Mingazow

Unused subs: Wang, Poon, Buddle, Jason Kam

Match highlights

Kitchee had the best of the opening exchanges, with Mingazow being denied, and then Aaron Rey could not convert from close range. Kitchee had the lion's share of possession for the first half, but with nothing to show for it. In the 44th minute, Jordan Lam's ball in was deftly headed in by Welthon. 

Credits to Scoop

The second half began with Kitchee makingtwo changes in midfield- Juninho and Rey came off, and were replaced by Temirov and Cheng Chin-lung. This moved Machado in from the wing and into attacking midfield. He had the first big chance of the half from distance, before the floodgates opened. Temirov slipped in Bae Jae-woo, whose first time cross was headed in by Machado. Minutes later, Mingazow played in Machado, whose cross made its way to Temirov via a deflection off our team, and after taking a touch the Uzbek scored. Kowloon City started to make their way back into the game; Talley had to be alert to deny former Tai Po striker Kayron, and Kowloon's star man went close with an acrobatic effort soon after.

Credits to Scoop

On the hour mark, Mingazow played in Temirov, who cut inside and fired a low shot in from outside the box. Kowloon City then scored their consolation in sloppy circumstances; Kayron was given too much time to set himself, and the Brazilian converted. They almost had a second but Bae Jae-woo's last-ditch slide on the line kept the score 4-1. With the game heading towards the close, Machado played in Temirov, who rounded the keeper and scored from an outrageous angle to complete his hat trick from the bench. In the 90th minute a determined run from Mingazow saw him carry the ball through the entire Kowloon City half, and the winger unselfishly teed up Chen Ngo-hin for his first Kitchee goal, and rounded off an emphatic 6-1 win.

Fans feedback

Credits to Scoop

Second half much improved was much improved, although the scoreline potentially flattered Kitchee. Chen Ngo-hin had a couple of missed chances but he got his first Kitchee goal at the end, and has clearly impressed Cardoso enough to come off the bench twice. He will improve with more gametime over the season, either as a sub in the league or with increased minutes in the Sapling Cup or the U22 league. It was well-documented here and elsewhere how Kitchee's squad was far too old last season, and this season has seen not only better recruitment of players of a good age profile. Talley, Haddow, Lam, Jones and Rey are all 26 or under and have started at least two of our opening four games, and have adapted well to life at Kitchee so far.

Credits to Jarly

Both full backs contributed in attack, with an assist each, and constantly added another attacking option. But in the first half Kitchee's attack was a bit disjointed, with a lot of crossing into the box with nobody there, although Welthon contributed to the attacking build up. Three goals in the first fifteen minutes following the restart blew Kowloon City away, as Machado moved into attacking midfield and looked better. The big goal difference went down well with fans, helped by Temirov, who despite being on the bench for the last three games has looked bright, and his workrate is very popular with the fanbase. His confidence is growing, and there is the potential for a really explosive attacking partnership with Juninho and Welthon. Fans wonder whether he would be able to change the game against much tougher opponents, which we will find out in mid-October against Tai Po and in November against Lee Man. 

Credits to Jarly

Fans are very happy that the toxicity that seemed to engulf the team last season has been removed, and the rust of the opening weeks seems to have been shaken off. However there are some concerns about the robustness of the defence; Kitchee did concede a sloppy consolation. That being said, it was a well-taken goal by Kayron, and the defensive mishaps will be ironed out as the team gels together. Talley did not have much to do, making a couple of nice saves but also having a couple of nervy moments. But there have to be realistic expectations for the team; while dominant in the last two games, there have been vulnerabilities; be it a lack of clinical finishing or the commitment to pressing football. Not having ACL games this year means some of the pressure is off the coaching staff and the players, which will help given the turnover on and off the pitch. Players know fans were not happy after the first two games, so will be motivated to continue the momentum and keep the fans on side.

Credits to Jarly

The midfield looked much better after the two half time subs. The back four has changed every game, as Cardoso seeks his best combination, but the front six looked to mostly be set in stone. With the front six as they are for the last two games (although Temirov is certainly pushing for a start), it leaves two foreign spots in the back five, and based on performances so far this season that will be two of Talley, Haddow and Bae, until Haddow receives his passport. Ngan Cheuk-pan played alright as a makeshift centre back, but fans will hope he does not become a regular feature in the Kitchee backline.

What's next and other news

Credits to Jarly

A lengthy break until the next game, with HKFC visiting us at Mong Kok on the 5th October. The Sapling Cup schedule has been released, with us finding ourselves in a group with North District, Tai Po, Eastern and HKFC. It is a single round-robin format, with the games all played during international windows. By the time we next play, we will know which players are part of the November friendlies.

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Match highlights

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Kitchee back on track with emphatic victory- Kitchee 8 Rangers 0

Kitchee got their first win of the season with a dominant display at home to Rangers, with new signings Luis Machado and Welthon both scoring twice. Juninho continued his fine form, and Mingazow and Poon both scored to end long goalscoring droughts. Sherzod Temirov was also amongst the scorers for the second time this season.

Team news

Credits to Scoop

Helio and Kim Shin-wook continued to be long term absentees. Kitchee youngsters Tuscany Shek, Matthew Slattery and Tom Yeung all travelled to Qatar with Hong Kong U20s and will be unavailable for the next few games, while Sohgo Ichikawa moved to Southern on loan during the week. Kitchee made five changes from last week's draw, with Talley, Law, Haddow, Lam and Juninho coming into the starting lineup, with Bae Jae-woo and Bardanca dropping out of the matchday squad. Chen Ngo-hin came on at half time for his Kitchee league debut; the winger spent the previous two seasons on loan at Southern, making twenty seven league appearances.

Credits to Issac

Talley; Law (c), Haddow, Jones (Poon 66), Lam; Lok (Ngan 46), Juninho, Rey; Machado (Chen 46), Welthon (Temirov 63), Mingazow (Fernando 63)

Unused substitutes: Wang, Lung, Buddle, Jason Kam

Match highlights

Credits to Scoop

On a very wet evening at Mong Kok Stadium, the opening chance fell to Rangers. But Lau Chi-lok,fresh off a hat trick last weekend, failed to get his free header on target. New signing Welthon took advantage of the space in midfield to ping a lovely ball out to Machado down the right, and the winger cut the ball back for Juninho, who took a touch and curled a lovely effort into the top corner. Then Juninho crossed in from the right hand side, and Mingazow cut it back for Machado to score his first Kitchee goal from close range. Mingazow capitalised on poor defending to break free and play in Machado, whose initial effort was blocked but the rebound hit him and went in. 

Credits to Scoop

Kitchee's fourth goal came about as a result of more high quality attacking; Machado's ball in was played back across for Welthon to score his first Kitchee goal, after seeing his effort last week harshly ruled out. At 4-0 and with five minutes of the half remaining, Rangers subbed off their left back, who had been given a torrid time by the constant running of Machado. Welthon almost made it five, but Rangers' goalkeeper was able to tip his header over the bar. Half time 4-0, and Kitchee were cruising.

Credits to Tommy

Half time saw Kitchee make two subs, with an eye on Wednesday's fixture against Kowloon City. Tan Chun-lok and two goal Luis Machado made way, being replaced by Ngan Cheuk-pan and Chen Ngo-hin, the latter making his league debut for Kitchee. After an excellent first half, Mingazow was rewarded with a goal, caressing it past the keeper after being slipped in by Aaron Rey. Mingazow then turned provider two minutes later, playing in Welthon who doubled his tally. Both were withdrawn shortly afterwards, but not before Welthon was agonisingly close to a hat trick; his heavy touch forcing him wide after another Aaron Rey through ball. 

Credits to Tommy

As the game came towards a close Kitchee still looked for more; heavy pressing from Rey saw a poorpass back from Rangers which substitute Temirov latched upon and drove forward, and with the goalkeeper stranded he took his time and scored from the edge of the box. Poon Pui-hin rounded off the scoring in the dying moments, placing a lovely first time shot from outside the box, after another lovely ball through from Rey. 8-0 and after two disappointing draws, the fans were more than happy.

Fan feedback

Credits to Kitchee

A dominant win and a clean sheet, and a big improvement. While there were signs of the attacking potential in the opening weeks, Kitchee finally came together and tore Rangers apart, taking advantage of them being far too open. Machado and Welthon both opened their Kitchee accounts, and Mingazow had his best game for months, with a goal (his first since March) and multiple assists. In midfield, Aaron Rey and Juninho posed more questions for the Rangers side, gliding forward at will to set up attacks.

Credits to Kitchee

In defence, Kitchee were able to comfortably play out from the back, exploiting the massive spaces left open, and we were able to see the preseason centre back combination of Jay Haddow and Leon Jones in action in the league for the first time. With the result secured Kitchee could afford to rest key players, and both Temirov and Poon scored. For Poon, he has had a tough time of late for Kitchee and Hong Kong, and fans were pleased he was able to score his first Kitchee goal in nearly a year, having missed a good chance minutes before.

Credits to Issac

Fans are hopeful this kickstarts Kitchee's season, with two (hopefully) straightforward home gamesnext up. The eleven Kitchee put out yesterday seems to be the most balanced and should be the same moving forward for most of the season. But rotation of the squad is always good, and it would not be a massive surprise to see a couple of changes for Wednesday with the short turnaround- possibly seeing starts for Bae Jae-woo and Sherzod Temirov. Much tougher tests await, but in recent years most games with Rangers have been tight cagey affairs, so asserting our dominance was a strong indicator of how good we can be this season.

What's next and other news

Credits to Brandon

Short turnaround, and we play again on Wednesday. Midweek game under the lights at Mong Kok, 8pm against Kowloon City.

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Match highlights

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Tommy

Brandon

Juninho's late goal rescues a point for Kitchee in another subpar performance- Kitchee 1 Southern 1

Team news

Photo by Tommy

Helio and Kim Shin-wook continued to be long term absentees. With too many foreign players, Kitchee rotated, with Temirov demoted to the bench and Talley and Haddow left out of the matchday squad. In total there were five changes from last week's disappointing draw. There were debuts for Leon Jones, Bae Jae-woo and Aaron Rey, and Welthon made his first start.

Wang; Bae, Leon (Poon 83), Bardanca (Temirov 67), Fernando (c) (Lam 67); Lok (Ngan 83), Rey, Lung (Juninho 54); Machado, Welthon, Mingazow

Unused substitutes: Law, Chen, Buddle, Tuscany, Ichikawa, Slattery, Jason Kam

Match highlights

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee versus Southern at Mong Kok Stadium has often had drama, none more so than last season, when Southern had a last minute winner controversially ruled out. Fans of both clubs were hopeful of more of the same, looking to get their first win of the campaign. Kitchee started strongly, with debutant Aaron Rey's driving run teeing up Machado on the right hand side, but Mingazow could not convert the cross in. Following a corner that Southern failed to clear, Welthon picked up the loose ball, and flicked the ball past a couple of defenders before firing home. Unfortunately VAR denied the Brazilian a goal on his first start, due to an offside in the build-up- Tan Chun-lok coming back from an offside position to obstruct a defender attempting to stop Welthon. Southern came into the game more, with Acosta and Gregory posing a major threat on the counter attack, with the latter hitting the post with a curling effort. A long ball over the top was not dealt with properly by Bardanca or Leon, and despite stumbling Gregory was able to comfortably score, giving Southern the lead as half time approached. Fernando hit a tame shot from range, before another Southern attack saw Wang save from Acosta, and Southern were looking the better side when the half time whistle blew.

Photo by Tony

Bardanca got a head to Fernando's free kick, but could only divert it towards the keeper. Good play down the Kitchee left teed up Tan Chun-lok, but his effort from range hit Mingazow and went wide. Juninho, Temirov and Jordan Lam came on as Kitchee subbed off a centre back, and Juninho went close after some nice linkup play down the right hand side. Juninho was involved again, bursting down the left and crossing for Welthon, who headed over the bar. Kitchee fans grew more and more frustrated, and these feelings were not improved when after a flowing Kitchee move Welthon finally got a header on target, beating the goalkeeper, only to be denied by an acrobatic clearance from Kawase. As full time approached Cardoso went all out attack, leaving Kitchee with a back three of Bae (RB), Lok (CDM- later replaced by fellow CDM Ngan) and Jordan Lam (LB/LW). Another drive from Rey sent up Juninho, who fired an equaliser into the top left corner, after breaking his Hong Kong scoring duck against the Solomon Islands last week. There was still time for Southern to go close; Kitchee failed to deal with another hoof forward, and with Southern's first notable chance of the half Wang spared Kitchee. Another disappointing draw for Kitchee, but a much improved second half.

Fan feedback

Photo by Scoop

Putting it simply, coming away from these two games with only two points is extremely poor. While some mitigations can be in place owing to the high squad turnover this summer, Kitchee should still have had enough to win. That being said, Southern have often been a tough side to break down, and in Gregory they have found a goalscoring striker. Kitchee could not create enough chances, with very few shots on target. The attacking cohesion is not quite there yet, but there are definitely positive signs. Welthon was unlucky to have his goal ruled out, but at times was having to drop far too deep for the ball. Aaron Rey was good on the ball, driving from midfield to set up our wide players. Juninho had a good cameo off the bench, and him and Temirov added an extra presence in attack that we missed. But Cardoso needs to find a way of making our midfield and attack work without sacrificing defence- Bardanca was susceptible to the long ball, and Fernando was caught out at left back again. Bae Jae-woo looked better at right back than Law did, and probably is a better all round player, but we cannot play all our foreigners at once and it is likely to be a case of chopping and changing each game, when different skillsets are required.

Photo by Scoop

Fans were very surprised to see Talley and Haddow not in the matchday squad, but Wang Zhenpeng kept us in the game with a number of good saves, and cannot be blamed for the goal. Speaking of the goal, Bardanca and Leon Jones did not deal with the ball over the top, and Gregory had the time to fall over and still score. Bardanca is looking shaky, and despite the added height he brings, Haddow and Leon were our partnership throughout preseason and would've made more sense for the continuity. After a strong performance against North District, and two good games for Hong Kong, Juninho's demotion to the subs bench was unexpected, but he made the difference when he came on.

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee are struggling with a lack of leadership. Despite his advancing years and reduced pace, Helio's absence is being felt, even if only from the bench. In his absence, Kitchee's leadership in theory comes from the vice captains- Law Tsz-chun, Fernando and Tan Chun-lok, none of whom were guaranteed starters last season and are not the most vocal. Kitchee need these players to step up, especially when heads are down, and help these new players gel together. While there is more passion shown when compared to last season, there are definitely players blaming younger players for mistakes, which cannot help squad morale.

Photo by Scoop

When Kitchee attack, Lok drops into a back three, with the full backs inverting and pushing up. But there is too much focus on one touch football which does not match the skillset of a number of the squad. Players are still adapting to changes in position or roles within the team. Juninho made a goalscoring cameo in 'central midfield' but given how attacking Kitchee were at that point, is it a sustainable option longer term? Cheng Chin-lung has been the first player substituted in both games despite looking much better than last season, while Mingazow and Machado have needed replacing to freshen up the attack. Towards the end the tactical tweaks got more desperate- subbing on Ngan Cheuk-pan at centre back to replace another player out of position was setting him up to fail, and even after we equalised, there was still a chance for Southern to score a winner, as he was not used to the position. Poon Pui-hin is nowhere near good enough for Kitchee at the moment, showing a poor touch and not adding to the team when he came on.

Debut watch

Photo by Scoop

Leon Jones. The Scottish born centre back put his body in the way, and showed some good passing range throughout. He was withdrawn as Kitchee went into all-out attack mode. He was however partially at fault for Southern's goal, as Gregory was able to beat both him and Bardanca to the long ball.

Photo by Scoop

Bae Jae-woo. The Korean full back did not have the space to get forward like he did in preseason. He ended the game in a back three which earned Kitchee a point. It will be interesting to see his role moving forward, given tactical frailties elsewhere. Some fans would like to see him and Law paired together on the right hand side. It was his first competitive appearance since October 2023.

Photo by Scoop

Aaron Rey. A strong debut for the Spaniard, who grew into the game. His decision-making needs work, although he had a much better second half, and got the assist for Kitchee's equaliser. Caused Southern problems with a number of driving runs.

What's next and other news

Kitchee will hope to get their first win on Saturday, playing Rangers at 6.30pm at Mong Kok. In international news, Hong Kong won the Tri-Nation friendly competition with the Solomon Islands and Fiji, with Juninho scoring his first Hong Kong goal in the first game and Tan Chun-lok earning his 50th cap in the latter.

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Match highlights

Written by Adam O'Domhnaill

New season, same old Kitchee? North District 2 Kitchee 2

Team news

Credits to Kitchee

The HKPL is back! Kitchee started with multiple new signings, as they looked to redeem last season's poor performance. With new manager Edgar Cardoso at the helm, there were league debuts for Talley in goal, Haddow and Bardanca in defence, and Machado on the wing. Welthon and Jordan Lam would later debut from the bench. Helio missed the match for personal reasons, Leon Jones for injury, and Kim Shin-wook continued to be away from the first team, to the surprise of absolutely no one. Tan Chun-lok and Cheng Chin-lung both started in midfield, having had limited minutes last season, and joining them was Juninho, pushed back into a new role favoured by Cardoso.

Talley; Law Tsz-chun (c), Haddow, Jones, Fernando; Tan Chun-lok, Juninho (Sohgo 80), Cheng Chin-lung (Ngan Cheuk-pan 71); Machado (Jordan Lam 80), Temirov (Welthon 58), Mingazow

Unused substitutes: Wang, Poon Chen, Buddle, Slattery, Tom Yeung, Jason Kam, 

Credits to Tommy

Match highlights

Kitchee dominated the opening exchanges, with Temirov having a couple of decent chances, after nice linkup play in midfield. Midway through the half a long ball forward from Juninho (in his new midfield role) found Mingazow, who was fouled by the goalkeeper. After the departure of regular taker Mikael in the offseason, Temirov stepped up and scored, in the same end where he scored his first Kitchee goal in last season's fixture. Kitchee were massively in the driving seat, although mostly restricted to shots from distance, but should have been a couple of goals to the good.

The second half began, and Kitchee still dominated, but could not put the game to bed. Tan Chun-lok headed in from a corner, after the goalkeeper allowed it through his legs, but it was ruled out, with Juninho adjudged to be in an offside position and obstructing the goalkeepers vision. With twenty minutes to go Juninho put a foot in to intercept, and drove from the halfway line. Despite the attention of a number of defenders he slotted home, and Kitchee felt home and dry, proven by the 'defensive' substitution of Ngan Cheuk-pan for Cheng Chin-lung. Not long afterwards Weverton latched onto a long ball on the left hand side, beating Law in the air. After some nifty footwork he got a fairly weak shot away, which went through the legs of debutant Fynn Talley, and just crossed the line. The Englishman was extremely relieved to be saved by VAR, who determined that there was an offside in the build-up. After that let off, substitutes Sohgo Ichikawa and Welthon linked together to almost extend the lead in the last ten minutes, but the chaos was yet to come.

A couple of minutes later a North District break down the Kitchee left exposed the high line, and despite the valiant efforts of Jay Haddow and Tan Chun-lok Kendy pulled a goal back. This gave the travelling Kitchee support, who made up a good proportion of the 685 attendance, flashbacks to last season, where Kitchee almost bottled a 3-0 lead, and it got worse. Kendy waltzed from inside his own half, almost unopposed. He fed the ball out wide, and despite Talley and Law both diving to try and block it, Matheus scored, sparking wild jubilant scenes for players staff and fans. Welthon almost redeemed Kitchee, the Brazilian having a nice turn and shot go narrowly wide, before North District continued their momentum, with only a good save from Talley secured the point. A disappointing day that should've promised so much more.

Fan feedback

A shambolic end to what should've been a routine win, and at times it looked like Kitchee could have handed out a thrashing. That Kitchee did not convert their chances can be partially put down to preseason rust- Kitchee had not played a game in nearly a month. Hopefully this improves as the season goes on. Part of Cardoso's resurrection of Kitchee meant bringing in a number of new players and a new playing style, which will not change completely overnight but there were positive signs to look ahead with. The unavailability of Leon and Helio meant Kitchee required Bardanca to start (after a preseason of mostly Leon and Jay), meaning a rejigged unbalanced midfield. But this is Hong Kong football and the foreign player quota is something Kitchee would have been aware of, and the system should not be so rigid that missing a couple of players causes these issues. In midfield Kitchee played a natural 8 (Lok) in the 6, with Lung and Juninho as 8s, neither of whom conventionally play there, which affected transitions, as it required a lot more tracking back from the 8s than they are used to.

Players and staff showed visible signs of frustration at full time, and while some point to low squad morale, other fans see it as a sign that the players care. Last season after poor performances there was very little indication from some players that they were disappointed with how they performed. Last season Kitchee scored eleven goals in the first two league games, before being destroyed by Lee Man, showing signs of complacency. Fans hope this result that grounds Kitchee and reminds them of their frailties- North District are likely to finish in the bottom three, so significantly tougher tests await.

There was too much wasteful finishing, while North District did setup deep, Kitchee had very few chances from inside the box, with multiple wayward shots from distance North District brought good energy to the closing stages, reminiscent from last season, as Kitchee's high energy style tired players out. Some fans criticised the timing of substitutes; Temirov had a goal and had worked really hard, but was removed for Welthon before the hour mark. Although the Brazilian held the ball up well and had a couple of chances, he did not have the same movement and energy of the Uzbek international. Similarly Ngan Cheuk-pan came on at 2-0, and Kitchee did not adjust tactically to see out the win, which left space in midfield that Kendy was able to easily exploit. Fernando is nearly thirty eight, and does not have the legs to play 90 minutes anymore, especially in this system, and Jordan Lam should have replaced him around the hour mark. Both goals came from down that side, and fresh legs would almost certainly have made a difference. Overall, a bad day at the office and fans hope the disgraceful complacency shown in the latter stages is a one off, and that the forwards can be more clinical next time.

Debut watch

Fynn Talley. The young Englishman did not have a load to do in this game, and cannot be solely blamed for either goal, as the North District counterattacks were relentless. His distribution was solid, but he made a bad error for Weverton's ultimately disallowed goal.

Jay Haddow. The youngster made his professional debut, and his composure on the ball allowed us to play out from the back. He held his position well while other players advanced down the pitch a bit too much, and there was little more he could do for the goals.

Diego Bardanca. He was probably not expecting to start, having had a heavily disrupted preseason owing to the birth of his child. But he played some nice passes out and made a couple of very important blocks. He was caught out of position slightly in the transition for the first North District goal, and him and Fernando on that left hand side of defence will be a risk against tougher opponents.

Credits to Tommy

Luis Machado. The Portuguese winger showed glimpses of quality on and off the ball, and had fluidmovement with Mingazow, with the pair swapping flanks throughout, and he was probably our best player in the first half. In the second half he faded, and needs to release the ball earlier, but with time to settle could be the difference maker we missed last season. Would've liked to see him drift infield a bit, and maybe setting Juninho down the right wing to pose different questions of the defence.

Welthon. The Brazilian made a good cameo, although appeared a bit short of match fitness intially. As the game progressed he moved well and linked up with other attackers with his hold up play. Had a couple of nice chances, and showed some good movement. Offers a very different threat to Temirov, and when up to speed could score plenty.

Credits to Tommy

Jordan Lam. Only had time for a short cameo on the left wing. No notable contributions, but many fans feel he should've played more, and at left back, given how North District exposed a tired Fernando.

What's next and other news

Kitchee do not play again until the 14th September, facing off against Southern at Mong Kok Stadiumat 6.30pm. Keep an eye out on Kitchee's social media for details of this season's Bluewave membership, offering fans a season ticket package for home games, which we expect to be announced prior to this date.

Photo by HK Kickers

Hong Kong travel to Fiji on Tuesday for games on Thursday against the Solomon Islands (3pm kick off HKT) and Sunday against Fiji (11am kick-off HKT), with new manager Ashley Westwood in charge. Both games will be available to watch on RTHK. Compared to recent years, Kitchee are scarcely represented; only Tan Chun-lok, Juninho and Poon Pui-hin (late callup) making the squad, with Leon Jones forced to withdraw through injury. 

Kitchee's women missed out on qualifying for the group stages of the maiden Asian Women's Champions League. After a win against Royal Thimphu College of Bhutan (Taylor Fu with the only goal), they needed victory over Bam Khatoon of Iran to go through, and lost 2-0.

Photo by Jared Lum

And finally former Kitchee midfielder Jared Lum brought his career to a close, playing his final game for North West Sydney Spirit in the Australian Cup. He made nearly a hundred Kitchee appearances between 2016 and 2020, winning two league trophies amongst a host of cups, before moving to R&F and then Eastern, before returning to Australia. He is fondly remembered by fans for his celebrations and taking time for photos. We wish him all the best in his retirement.

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Written by Adam O'Domhnaill