Hong Kong are EAFF qualification winners and mixed Sapling Cup performances

Credits to SportsRoad

Kitchee closed out the year with two Sapling Cup ties, while five players were representing Hong Kong in the EAFF qualifiers. Kitchee beat HKFC but lost to Tai Po with a depleted squad for both, while for the internationals there was more joy, as Hong Kong won three out of three to book their spot in South Korea in 2025.

Kitchee 3 HKFC 1

There were eight changes to Kitchee's starting line up. Law and Bardanca came in for their first starts in two and three months respectively, while Matthew Slattery played for the first time since Southern away at the end of last season. Machado came off the bench for his first appearance in six weeks, and Seb Buddle made a short cameo off the bench for his first competitive appearance of the season. There were more minutes for our young players, and Mingazow temporarily returned from suspension, thanks to archaic HKFA disciplinary rules meaning that he would serve the second game against Tai Po a week later.

Tuscany; Law, Helio (c), Bardanca, Jordan (Buddle 82); Bae (Temirov 60), Lung (Machado 75), Rey; Mingazow, Slattery (Yeung 75), Chen (Wesley 60)

Unused subs: Wang, Dantas, Jason

First half goals from Law (his first goal for two years), Rey and Mingazow put Kitchee 3-0 up within the first half hour, with HKFC responding before half time after a sloppy pass from Helio. An uneventful second half saw opportunities for Kitchee to extend the lead, but also for Cardoso to rotate, giving squad players a chance to feature, and the game ended 3-1.

Mongolia 0 Hong Kong 3

Credits to SportsRoad

A routine victory for Hong Kong, with Juninho getting an assist for the opening goal. He played an hour as one of four Kitchee players to start, as Ngan Cheuk-pan (90 mins), Leon Jones (45) and Fernando (60) all continued to start for the representative team for the fourth game in a row.

Hong Kong 2 Chinese Taipei 1

As has become the norm under Westwood, 4 Kitchee players started- Leon Jones, Fernando, Ngan Cheuk-pan and Juninho, and Poon Pui-hin was an unused sub. Juninho set up former Kitchee striker Matt Orr's opener, before Chinese Taipei levelled on the half hour.  Hong Kong were under the cosh in the second half, but an 87th minute winner from Tsui Wang-kit (his first international goal) sparked absolute limbs amongst the Hong Kong fanbase, setting up a final against Guam. Unfortunately Juninho had to come off in the first half with a thigh injury, which ruled him out of the final and he faces a race against time to be back in time for Kitchee's first game of 2025.

Kitchee 0 Tai Po 3

5 players remained with Hong Kong, with Tan Chun-lok and Jay Haddow still injured, and Ruslan Mingazow suspended. Welthon coming in for Mingazow was Kitchee's only change, as Slattery moved out wide.

Tuscany; Law (Temirov 63), Helio (c), Dantas, Jordan, Bae, Lung (Machado 46), Rey, Slattery (Wesley 86), Welthon, Chen

Unused subs: Wang, Bardanca, Yeung, Jason

A weakened Kitchee side got battered by Tai Po on a cold Sunday night in Tsing Yi. Cheng Chin-lung went close early on, but then it was all Tai Po from there. Tuscany had to be in top form in goal to keep the game level in the first half, with a number of very good saves. Half time substitute Machado went close from a corner, before Tai Po centre back Marcao scored a great freekick on the hour. Kitchee lost possession on halfway shortly afterwards, with Tai Po able to carve through Kitchee's defence to double their lead. In the dying moments Igor Sartori easily cut inside from their left hand side to make it 3-0, and inflict Kitchee's largest competitive defeat in over a year. This defeat, in addition to the November draw with Northern District means the March Sapling Cup game against Eastern (also during internationals) is now a must win game.

Guam 0 Hong Kong 5

Credits to Nick Kung

Leon Jones and Fernando started, with Juninho injured (although still listed as a sub) and Ngan Cheuk-pan and Poon Pui-hin introduced as substitutes in the second half. A comfortable win for Hong Kong, who booked their place to South Korea in July for the EAFF finals. Leon Jones played the full ninety, Fernando played over an hour (before being replaced by Ngan Cheuk-pan), and Poon Pui-hin's fourteen minute cameo was his first international minutes since the defeat to Liechtenstein in October.

What's next

Kitchee next play on the 11th January, away to Southern. They will have Mingazow back from suspension, and hopefully Jay Haddow, Tan Chun-lok and Juninho will have fully recovered, or at least close to full fitness. Kitchee face Eastern (twice) and Tai Po in the three weeks after this, while a Hong Kong XI will have the two-legged Hong Kong-Guangzhou Cup to compete in around the same time, although this will likely involve our young players rather than our regulars.

Here at Angry Boundary Street we would like to thank you for your generous efforts in supporting our fundraising for Movember and the Hong Kong Cancer Fund. Across our two pages, we raised in excess of HK$8500 and moved in excess of 2000km.

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See you in 2025 for another year of interviews, transfer speculation and match reaction!

Kitchee fall to first Senior Shield defeat in years with semi-final disappointment- Lee Man 2 Kitchee 1

Photo from HK Kickers

Kitchee fell to their second defeat of the season as Lee Man emerged victorious in the Senior Shield semi-final. Two defensive howlers meant the scores were level at half time, with Anier and Temirov the beneficiaries. Everton Camargo scored a brilliant freekick at the start of the second half, which proved to be the winner. Despite Kitchee pushing for an equaliser, the lack of depth off the bench proved costly, as a tired team failed to create many clearcut chances. The result meant Kitchee's attempts at winning three Senior Shields in a row were over, and Lee Man inflicted Kitchee's first defeat in the competition since November 2019, one thousand, eight hundred and forty seven days later, although this number is deceiving given that two seasons of the competition were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Team news

Photo by Muu Design

Haddow, Tan Chun-lok and Machado remained out injured, with Mingazow suspended. Kitchee made two changes from last week's comprehensive victory at Kowloon City; Leon Jones replaced Helio at centre back and captained the club for the first time, and Temirov replaced Mingazow out wide.

Talley; Bae, Leon, Dantas, Jordan; Ngan, Juninho, Rey; Poon (Fernando 54), Welthon, Temirov

Unused subs: Wang, Law, Helio, Lung, Fernando, Chen, Buddle, Bardanca, Tuscany, Slattery, Yeung, Jason, Wesley

Match highlights

Photo by SportsRoad

After a pretty even opening, Lee Man were gifted the opening goal. Bae Jae-woo's poor back pass gave Lee Man a chance out of nowhere, with Anier reacting quickly to go one on one with Talley. Despite Talley's best efforts in blocking the shot, the ball still went in, and Lee Man had an early lead. Kitchee pushed forward, going close from a couple of set pieces, but only levelled in first half stoppage time. Two failed attempts by the Lee Man defence to clear the ball led to Lee Man's goalkeeper scrambling to keep the ball out, with Sherzod Temirov tapping in for his seventh goal of the season, and first for a month. 1-1 half time.

Photo by SportsRoad

The second half started disastrously for Kitchee. A silly foul gave Lee Man a freekick right in front of the box, and talismanic winger Everton Camargo stepped up and hit it into the top corner, despite the best efforts of Talley. Kitchee almost had a penalty around the hour mark, although after a VAR check it was not given, probably the right decision. Welthon hit a powerful effort straight at the keeper, although had the big Brazilian scored it would have been ruled out for offside. The rest of the second half passed without much incident; Lee Man posed threats on the counter, with Talley keeping out another freekick from Everton and he kept Kitchee in the game. On the other hand Kitchee were largely restricted to shots from distance and tame headers. The final whistle saw both sets of players and coaches involved in a ruckus, where players had to be restrained by their teammates.  

Fan feedback

Photo by SportsRoad

A defeat, our second of the season, and our chance of defending the Senior Shield again is gone. But that does not mean the game was all bad. Fynn Talley made some smart saves in goal, and is growing in confidence with each game. He was sold short by a poor back pass for Lee Man's opener, and did get a hand on the shot, and while he could not get near Everton's freekick for the eventual winning goal, it was very sweetly struck into the top corner. Also, as in our poor results early in the season, players seem genuinely upset with poor results, a marked shift in mindset from last campaign. The team got stuck in in a physical encounter and while they ultimately came off second best, the players are showing a willingness to fight for the shirt.

Photo by SportsRoad

However, there was limited creativity and width in Kitchee's attack. Aaron Rey, who has usually been so dominant in midfield, was closed down time and time again by Lee Man's midfield, especially once Wu Chun-ming came on at half time. There was sloppy passing all over the pitch too, giving Lee Man simple turnovers. While taking four first team players (Jay Haddow, Tan Chun-lok, Mingazow and Machado) out of most teams would make them noticeably weaker, in Kitchee's case there is no senior depth in key positions. Temirov and Poon were ineffective on the wings, and while Fernando added a bit more threat when he came on, Kitchee's attack was also affected by Welthon not looking 100% after being clattered early doors. The only tactical switch made really was Poon and Temirov swapping flanks- Juninho could have been used out wide to allow Temirov to play centrally, and in the closing stages Dantas could have been thrown up front to ask more questions of Lee Man's defence. 

Photo by SportsRoad

While young players have been getting some more league minutes than in previous years, Kitchee's bench of twelve featured a number of players who are clearly not trusted by Cardoso for anything more than Sapling Cup games, if at all. Without Machado and Mingazow we have very limited options in attack, and even if Juninho had been put out on the wing, the only central midfielder on the bench was Cheng Chin-lung, another player clearly out of his depth when starting regularly. Kitchee have six weeks until the next league game (a very tough January with Southern, Eastern and Tai Po away), and in that time need to develop some trust in the young attackers- hopefully we see lots of them in the two upcoming Sapling Cup matches. We may potentially bring in one or two new players, with Mingazow (end of contract, although some talk of a short term extension) and Bardanca (probable termination) two realistic departures; many fans wonder if Kim Shin-wook will also leave, although the Korean forward, without a game in almost a year, is still reportedly under contract until early 2026. Jay Haddow should get his Hong Kong passport over the coming months, giving us another versatile local player.

What's next

Photo by SportsRoad

Two Sapling Cup games at terrible stadiums. First up Kitchee play HKFC at Hammer Hill on the 8th, before travelling to Tsing Yi to face Tai Po on the 15th. Hong Kong also have two, potentially three EAFF qualifying games. Mongolia (8th, 6pm Mong Kok Stadium) and then Chinese Taipei (14th, 8pm Mong Kok Stadium). With North Korea's recent withdrawal, Hong Kong are favourites, and coming first in the group sets up a final with either Macau or Guam, ranked significantly below Hong Kong. Leon Jones, Fernando, Ngan Cheuk-pan and Juninho all made the final twenty man squad, and are likely to start, given that all four have played a key role in Westwood's four games so far. 

Some of our fans are fundraising for charity throughout this month, moving as much distance as possible, and so far have walked or run over 1500km already. More details are on our social media pages. If you'd like to support our efforts, please use the following links:

Movember 

Hong Kong Cancer Fund

Keep in touch with our social media Facebook Instagram

Photos today were by Muudesign, check out their page here

Kowloon City crumbles in big Kitchee win- Kowloon City 0 Kitchee 5

Kitchee extended their unbeaten run to four with a comprehensive 5-0 win away to Kowloon City. First half goals from Kitchee's attackingfront five put Kitchee in cruise control, and despite Mingazow's red card just before the break, Kowloon City offered very little allowing Kitchee to depart with three points and a clean sheet.

Team news

Jay Haddow, Tan Chun-lok and Luis Machado continued to be out, and there was a first start of the season for Poon. Poon, along with Juninho and Ngan Cheuk-pan returned to the starting lineup after international duty and missing the Sapling Cup opener. In all there were five changes from the Sapling Cup draw, with Fynn Talley in goal and Ruslan Mingazow on the left wing also coming in, with Tuscany Shek, Jason Kam, Cheng Chin-lung, Chen Ngo-hin and Sherzod Temirov all dropping to the bench.

Talley; Bae (Law 68), Helio, Dantas (Jones 62), Jordan; Ngan, Juninho (Lung 62), Rey (Fernando 46); Poon, Welthon (Temirov 46), Mingazow

Unused subs: Wang, Chen, Buddle, Tuscany, Slattery, Yeung, Jason, Wesley

Match highlights

While chasing a long ball forward from Ngan, Poon inadvertently injured Li Hon-ho, and the veteran Kowloon City goalkeeper was forced off injured. Soon afterwards, Juninho's cross was nodded across goal by Mingazow onto the head of Welthon, and the big Brazilian converted to score in back to back games. Another well-worked Kitchee goal doubled Kitchee's lead- Mingazow played a corner short to Jordan Lam, who played it back for Aaron Rey to curl in a sumptuous effort from outside the box. Juninho played in Poon on his first Kitchee start, who scored his third goal and put the game to bed. Poon then latched onto Ngan Cheuk pan's ball over the top to tee in Mingazow, who tapped in the rebound after his initial effort was stopped. Juninho battled hard down the right, playing a one-two with Poon before getting the ball back and making it five. Fynn Talley made a great stop from Kayron, and the half looked to be meandering to a close. But then a silly push by Mingazow knocked Ho Lung-ho to the ground, and as the Kowloon City defender lay over the ball Mingazow appeared to stamp on him, leaving the referee to send him off, after some fisticuffs from both sets of players. 5-0 halftime, and with Kitchee down to ten, there was a strong chance of a very slow second half.

Kitchee made two half time subs, with Rey and Welthon being replaced by Fernando and Temirov. Poon went close early on, before Juninho was fouled in the box around the hour mark. After a lengthy VAR check, with Temirov waiting to take the kick, it was ruled not to be a foul- on merit probably the right decision, given Juninho appeared to kick the defender first. Talley made two solid saves to keep the clean sheet in tact, including an incredible right-handed save to keep out Lam Hok-hei, before Poon shot straight at the goalkeeper. The sixth goal never came, but Kitchee were able to use the second half to test an all local defence for the first time this season (Law, Jones, Helio and Jordan) which ultimately held firm.

Fan feedback

A comfortable win and good to keep a clean sheet for the third time this season. Despite Kowloon City offering very little, Talley and the defence needed to be alert, and Talley's save from Lam Hok-hei was sublime. After going 5-0 in thirty-five minutes most fans expected the game to slow down a lot, even more so when Kitchee went down to ten. Much bigger games will follow, especially next week's Senior Shield semi final against Lee Man.

Kitchee used the second half well, adapting easily to ten men and playing more on the counter, utilising the energy of Poon, Lung and Temirov, while Fernando showed his experience with some nice attacking play. Poon had his best game in a Kitchee shirt for a while with a goal and an assist. He played a large chunk of the second half with an injury, staying on as Kitchee were already down to ten with all five subs already made. Tan Chun-lok's injury appears to be severe, ruled out until the start of 2025 at least, but if Ngan Cheuk-pan continues his current form and the confidence he has gained from being a key part of Ashley Westwood's Hong Kong setup, we will hopefully not feel the loss next week. We do have three tough away games in January- Southern, Eastern and Tai Po- so hopefully Tan Chun-lok is able to feature.

What's next

Kitchee take on Lee Man in the Senior Shield semi final next Saturday. 3pm kick off at Mong Kok Stadium. The league match the other week was feisty, and last season's semi final between the same sides saw a number of yellow cards and brawls, so fans will hope for more of the same. Jay Haddow and Tan Chun-lok are ruled out through injury and Mingazow through suspension. Fans will hope that Luis Machado is back available, with the Portugese winger not playing since the Lee Man fixture almost a month ago. Following that Kitchee have two Sapling Cup ties (at Hammer Hill and Tsing Yi, two terrible stadiums) before seemingly a break over Christmas, unless HKFA start the FA Cup or run another Christmas tournament like last season. Kitchee return to league action away to Southern on the 11th January.

Other news

Seven Kitchee players were called up to the 30 man preliminary squad for the EAFF qualifiers for Hong Kong's games against Mongolia and Chinese Taipei (and a potential final if they finish first in the group). Leon Jones, Helio, Poon Pui-hin, Fernando, Ngan Cheuk-pan, Juninho and Matthew Slattery were called up, with Tan Chun-lok not called up due to his current injury. 

Some of our fans are fundraising for charity throughout this month, moving as much distance as possible, and so far have walked or run over 850km already. More details are on our social media pages. If you'd like to support our efforts, please use the following links:

Movember 

Hong Kong Cancer Fund

Keep in touch with our social media Facebook Instagram

Thanks to Erikson for the photos

Match highlights

A win in mainland China, Sapling Cup underway, and two friendly wins for Hong Kong

Kitchee have not had a league game for almost three weeks, but in this time have travelled to China for a friendly, and got their Sapling Cup campaign underway. Six members of Kitchee's squad were on international duty as Hong Kong won both friendlies, as Ashley Westwood's side became the first Hong Kong team to win three games in a row since 2016.

Kitchee first played China League One side Guangxi Pingguo Haliao in a friendly, coming out 4-1 winners. A near full-strength side (only missing the injured Tan Chun-lok and a couple of rested players) ventured north. Poon Pui-hin opened the scoring before Guangxi equalised, with a long range effort from Ngan Cheuk-pan and a goal from Temirov putting Kitchee 3-1 up at half time. Kitchee scored a fourth in the second half through an own goal, and got minutes in the tank during the break between competitive fixtures.

Sapling Cup

Kitchee travelled to Sheung Shui for their first game in the Sapling Cup, with six players away with Hong Kong and Jay Haddow ruled out with an injury, which will see him out for a few weeks. Luis Machado was rested having played every competitive game this season, and Tan Chun-lok, ruled out of international duty through injury, was not fit . There was a first competitive senior appearance of the season for club captain Helio, and youngsters Tuscany and Jason Kam. Chen Ngo-hin was Kitchee's other U22 player from the off, while teenagers Tom Yeung and Wesley Chan (on debut) came on in the second half. Welthon's first half goal was soon levelled, and the match proved largely uneventful. Fans were glad to see Helio return, as well as young players being regularly used. Tom Yeung looked bright off the bench, and Temirov was a workhorse as always.

Tuscany; Jason (Yeung 66), Helio (c), Dantas (Bardanca 46); Bae, Lung(Law 82), Rey; Jordan; Temirov, Welthon (Mingazow 66), Chen (Wesley 66)

Unused subs: Wang, Buddle

Now for Hong Kong news, as they beat the Philippines 3-1 and Mauritius 1-0. Tan Chun-lok was ruled out through injury, while Leon Jones and Juninho played all 180 minutes across both games. Fernando and Ngan Cheuk-pan started both games, while Poon Pui-hin and Matthew Slattery (the latter a very surprise callup, after zero minutes this season) were unused in both games. Juninho got an assist in the first game, but Hong Kong were perhaps fortunate to come away with a win in the second game. Mauritius, who were down to ten men for nearly fifty minutes, had a late equaliser controversially ruled out for offside, as the second half was painful to watch at times from a Hong Kong perspective, with a number of backwards and sideways passes.

Some of our fans are fundraising for charity throughout this month, moving as much distance as possible, and so far have walked or run nearly 500km already. More details are on our social media pages. If you'd like to support our efforts, please use the following links:

Movember 

Hong Kong Cancer Fund

Keep in touch with our social media Facebook Instagram

Thanks to Scoop for photos Facebook Instagram

One point gained or two points dropped? Kitchee held to a draw by Lee Man in feisty encounter- Kitchee 1 Lee Man 1

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee again failed to beat Lee Man in the league, with Lee Man continuing to prove a bogey team for us. Anier's opener was equalised by Poon Pui-hin in first half stoppage time, and the clash between the last two league champions saw ten yellow cards, two brawls and both sides having chances to win.

Team news

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee made two changes from last weeks Senior Shield victory; Talley and Ngan Cheuk-pan (for his 50th Kitchee appearance) coming in for Wang and the injured Temirov. This also meant a reshuffle: Juninho moving into a centre forward role for the first time this season and Kitchee going for added midfield solidity with Tan Chun-lok and Ngan Cheuk-pan together.

Talley; Bae (Haddow 66), Leon, Dantas, Lam (Fernando 79); Lok (Poon 11), Ngan, Rey; Machado, Juninho, Mingazow

Unused: Wang, Law, Helio, Lung, Chen, Buddle, Slattery, Jason Kam

Match highlights

Photo by Scoop

Juninho had an early effort from range tipped over, before Kitchee cleared a goalmouth scramble as Lee Man had multiple chances to score. Tan Chun-lok was in the wars early on, eventually needing to be replaced after eleven minutes through injury, and would later leave the stadium in a wheelchair. With Ngan Cheuk-pan already on the pitch, there was no natural replacement, so Poon Pui-hin was brought on, which meant a reshuffle to a 4-2-3-1, with Machado moving centrally and Poon on the right. There was then sustained Lee Man pressure, with a number of balls into good areas but they were not getting any shots off. Eventually Anier scored, beating Talley at the near post, before Everton hit the woodwork, inches away from doubling their lead. This kicked Kitchee into life, with them spending more time in the Lee Man half, and they were rewarded in first half stoppage time. Poon played in Machado, whose cheeky backheel set Poon up to finish first time for his second goal of the season. 1-1, and a pulsating clash had seen both sides have periods in the ascendency and two yellow cards apiece.

Photo by Scoop

The second half saw Kitchee start strong, with Juninho having a goalbound header blocked by Dudu, with penalty claims waved away. Samuel Rosa then skied a shot from right in front of the goal against the run of play, Kitchee holding firm once again. As the game came towards a close, the last fifteen minutes got very tense and tetchy; five on pitch yellow cards, Cardoso starting a brawl after an argument with Tim Chow over a throw in (receiving a booking), and Aaron Rey hauling down Everton, who was lucky not to be sent off for his swinging arm, which caused another brawl. Fights aside, the closing exchanges saw both sides have chances to win; Juninho went close from Machado's freekick, before Paulissen fired wide and Talley tipped Everton's effort onto the post. Both sides will feel they could have won, and the game finished 1-1.

Photo by Sports Road

Fan feedback

An entertaining encounter, with both sides having chances to win, and fans enjoying the tackles flying in and the two brawls late in the second half. While Kitchee had more of the ball and more shots on target, they were certainly grateful to some wayward Lee Man finishing, although our opponents did hit the woodwork on multiple occasions. Both sides will come away thinking that game was there for the taking, and time will tell whether it proves to be a crucial point for Kitchee in a game they could have lost.

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee definitely missed Temirov and Welthon in attack, although Juninho put a hardworking shift in, having spent most of this season in midfield. With one of our main strikers available, we probably win that. The team also adapted to Tan Chun-lok's injury early on with the resulting change of formation. Fans admired the passion shown by both sides, and a willingness to get stuck in. While five yellow cards for Kitchee suggests a lack of discipline, at least the majority were for fouls rather than dissent, which was a big issue for Kitchee last year towards the end of the season especially.

Photo by Ying

Poon played more minutes in this game than he had all season in a Kitchee shirt and worked hard. He scored a nice equalising goal and got himself into good areas. Our signings are blending in well to the side; while Talley could have done better with the goal, his distribution improved, Leon Jones and Dantas have a solid partnership at the back, and Aaron Rey and Luis Machado are very good technical players. Jordan Lam and Bae Jae-woo started at full back, with Jay Haddow coming on, and there are definitely conversations to be had about what the right selection balance is.

One more thing to take away is how long it has been since we last beat Lee Man in the league, with April 2021 being our last victory. Although we have beaten them in cup competitions since then, we cannot break them down in the league. It is also the best part of five years since Kitchee went behind in a league game and came back to win. While a stat like this highlights our dominance in recent season,

Photo by Ying

with three league wins, it does call into question the mentality of the squad once we go a goal behind. That is also four games of the opening seven in the league where we have dropped points, after the early season draws with North District and Southern, and the recent defeat to Tai Po. If we are to have any chance of winning the league, we probably need a near-flawless league run until the end of the season. Saying that, with the cup competitions, bye weeks and Hong Kong playing the EAFF qualifiers in December Kitchee only have one more league game before mid January, by which time we can hope Jay Haddow received his passport to play as a local player and the squad continues to build their coherence.

What's next

Kitchee have a week off before travelling to Sheung Shui to play Northern District in the Sapling Cup on the 16th at 3pm. Hong Kong have two home games either side of this, so we will take a weakened squad up north.

Photo by Sports Road

Some of our fans are fundraising for charity throughout this month, moving as much distance as possible. More details are on our social media pages. If you'd like to support our efforts, please use the following links:

Movember 

Hong Kong Cancer Fund

Keep in touch with our social media Facebook Instagram

Thanks to our photographers

Scoop Facebook Instagram

Ying

Match highlights

Kitchee get revenge on Tai Po as Senior Shield defence gets off to a strong start- Kitchee 3 Tai Po 1

Credits to SportsRoad

Kitchee extended their unbeaten run in the Senior Shield to nearly five years with a revenge win over Tai Po. First half goals from Bae Jae-woo and Sherzod Temirov gave Kitchee the upper hand at half time, before Gabriel Cividini pulled one back just after half time. Kitchee restored the two goal advantage through Ruslan Mingazow, and will face Lee Man in the semi final in early December.

Team news

Kitchee made four changes and reverted back to the 4-3-3 formation that has brought good fortune this season. Veteran goalkeeper Wang came in for Talley, with Jordan Lam, Bae Jae-woo and Temirov coming in for Law, Ngan Cheuk-pan and Welthon. Jay Haddow returned to the bench having been out of the squad for last week's defeat.

Wang; Bae (Haddow 55), Leon, Dantas, Lam (Fernando 81); Lok (c), Rey, Juninho (Ngan 63), Machado, Temirov (Poon 81), Mingazow

Unused: Tuscany, Law, Helio, Lung, Chen, Buddle, Slattery, Jason Kam

Match highlights

Credits to SportsRoad

Around the half hour mark Jordan Lam's cross was headed away, and Bae Jae-woo's low first time shot from outside the box nestled in the bottom corner. Shortly afterwards great work from Mingazow won back possession and played in Temirov, who evaded the Brazilian giants in the Tai Po backline before running past Tse Ka-wing and slotting home. On an eventful night for the Uzbek forward, he was booked for taking his shirt off to celebrate, having previously received a head knock which required a headband. A true warrior. Half time 2-0.

Credits to SportsRoad

Tai Po made two changes at half time, bringing former Kitchee players Igor Sartori and Philip Chan, and within minutes they had a goal back. Kitchee failed to deal properly with a corner, and Tai Po captain Gabriel fired in. Tai Po were galvanised and grew into the game; Igor Sartori crossed in a freekick, and Wang made an incredible save to tip the resulting header onto the bar, before Tai Po forced the rebound in, but the linesman's flag was raised and the goal did not stand. Just after the hour, in response to growing Tai Po pressure, Cardoso swapped Juninho for Ngan Cheuk-pan, and almost immediately the substitute played a beautiful ball out to Mingazow. The Turkmen winger got past Weverton with ease and cut inside, before finishing nicely, and Kitchee had their two goal advantage back. Wang kept the score at 3-1 with a good save from Renner, before Temirov was subbed off to great applause from the fans after a fantastic display of hard work. Kitchee had more chances to score; a nice cross from the left by Poon was played into Machado by Mingazow, but in the resulting pinball none of the trio could convert. The game ended 3-1, and Kitchee's dominance in the competition in recent years continued.

Fan feedback

Credits to SportsRoad

A very good win, overcoming the demons of last week while reverting back to a more familiar formation. The changes worked well, with two of the four recalled to the starting line up scoring in the first half. Kitchee withstood heavy Tai Po pressure early on in the second half, but were able to see out the game thanks to solid defending and swift transitions. Aaron Rey is looking like our key player in midfield, with his skills on the ball crucial to how we change from defence to attack. Our off the ball movement is much better than last season, although some fans worry that we do not have enough players to play this tactical style every game. Ngan Cheuk-pan has improved massively following his loan spell at Sham Shui Po, and his well-weighted pass set up Mingazow to make the game safe. Poon Pui-hin off the bench offered pace and energy, but very little end product.

Credits to SportsRoad

In the grand scheme of things, this was an important win, showing that we can defeat the top teams, which is crucial this weekend as Lee Man come to visit. Mingazow is starting to show signs of his first season form and we hope this can continue. There are still question marks over the goalkeeping situation; Wang Zhenpeng was solid and made a couple of spectacular saves to help us win. Talley has the higher ceiling, but Wang has the experience and is more confident at the moment. It is highly unlikely Kitchee would use a foreign spot on a substitute goalkeeper in any competition, and would Cardoso risk Wang starting regularly with sixteen year old Tuscany Shek as backup in the league? Time will tell.

Matheus Dantas has improved our defence massively, with good composure on the ball, while Bae Jae-woo provides solid defence and attack down the right hand side, rounded off with a lovely goal, and deserves more minutes in the starting line up. It will be interesting to see the foreign players used against Lee Man this weekend, given that you have nine players with strong claims to play battling for seven foreign player spaces in a matchday squad.

What's next 

Lee Man at home, 6pm on Saturday. While last season's invincible champions are in poor form, they will still pose a test, that hopefully we can get through.

Kitchee had ten players called up to the preliminary Hong Kong squad for the two friendlies in November- Tan Chun-lok, Helio, Law Tsz-chun, Poon Pui-hin, Fernando, Juninho, Cheng Chin-lung, Ngan Cheuk-pan, Leon Jones and Jordan Lam.

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Across November, some Kitchee fans will be raising money for Movember and the Hong Kong Cancer Fund. Any support would be greatly appreciated- keep an eye out for our social media posts.

Match highlights

Kitchee fall to first defeat of the season as change of system fails- Tai Po 1 Kitchee 0

Credits to Kitchee

Kitchee fell to their first defeat of the season on Saturday, with former Kitchee icon Lucas Silva's second half goal giving Tai Po a 1-0 win. Despite Kitchee pressure to equalise, Tai Po's defence held firm.

Team news

Brazilian centre back Matheus Dantas signed officially during the week, with Kitchee the latest stop on a journeyman career that started in top level Brazilian academies. He featured for the under 22s in midweek, and both came into the matchday squad for this week's game. Dantas, Tan Chun-lok and Mingazow came into the starting lineup for Fernando, Temirov (both benched) and Haddow (not in the squad). Cardoso also changed system for the toughest test of Kitchee's season so far; opting for a formation that varied between a 3-4-2-1 and a 3-5-2. Club captain Helio made his long-awaited return to the matchday squad; after also featuring for the under 22s on Tuesday he made the bench for the first time this season.

Talley; Ngan, Leon, Dantas (Temirov 67); Law (Fernando 46), Rey (Lung 67), Lok (c), Machado, Mingazow; Juninho, Welthon

Unused: Wang, Helio, Jordan, Poon, Chen, Buddle, Slattery, Jason

Credits to Scoop

Match highlights

Former Kitchee striker Lucas Silva was expected to be the main threat for Tai Po on a hot October Saturday afternoon, and he went close twice in the opening twenty minutes. Kitchee's first chance of note came on the counter attack; Juninho slipped in Welthon who went through Tai Po's defence with ease, but unfortunately for the away fans the Brazilian forward shot just wide of the post. Minutes later he went close again, some nice footwork setting him up for a powerful shot from outside the box that hit the crossbar. Kitchee had the better half, and arguably should have been at least a goal up, but could not make the dominance count.

Kitchee allowed Tai Po to get into too much space down our right hand side, and the resulting cross wasflapped at by Talley, but Igor Sartori ballooned his effort over the bar. This was met with ironic cheers from travelling fans, as he was largely unimpressive during his eighteen month spell with us, including missing an open goal in this fixture last season. Tai Po went close again, with Talley getting down low to deny Gabriel Pierini, before the linesman eventually flagged for offside. Talley tipped Igor's effort over the bar, before Tai Po broke the deadlock. Weverton took a free kick from halfway, which bounced in the box, and Lucas Silva easily outmuscled Ngan Cheuk-pan to score. Kitchee went close soon after; Mingazow, Fernando and Juninho combined neatly down the left, which sent Fernando through on goal. His low shot beat Tse Ka-wing, but Weverton's last ditch slide kept Tai Po's clean sheet intact. Mingazow and Machado also had chances to score late on, but that final scoring touch that had been so prevalent in recent weeks could not be found, despite Kitchee having the lion's share of possession in the closing stages.

Fan feedback

Tai Po has always been a bogey team in recent years, with Kitchee not winning there since 2018. It is clear why many fans of Hong Kong football back them to win the league, with a well-drilled side, an experienced manager, and a fantastic record at home.

Credits to Scoop

That being said, Cardoso's tactical gamble of switching to three at the back did not work. Kitchee could have stuck with a 4-3-3, moving Ngan Cheuk-pan into a more conventional role, and brought in another centre back. But there were undoubtedly reservations about putting Dantas or Helio, both without a senior game in months, into the side in a back four. The three at the back meant a very congested midfield and very little threat down the wings, with Kitchee having possession and chances but lacking the final end product.

Cardoso and Kitchee are still looking for the right balance in defence, with a switch to a back three
another change in front of young goalkeeper Fynn Talley. Other than the goal, where maybe he could have done better, he kept the scores level at 0-0 with a few smart stops, and there were less hairy moments with distribution. But Kitchee also got lucky when the defence (and Talley) failed to deal with a cross and former winger Igor Sartori missed from close range. Dantas showed good composure on the ball and passed well, but did have to come off the second half after getting injured, which we hope is not a sign of things to come. Welthon was bright, and went close twice in the first half, and probably should've scored when he was one on one with Tse.

Kitchee this season have placed an emphasis on building up from the back, with players with a high level of technical ability being favoured over physicality. Kitchee kept the ball very well, with Welthon being very technically good on the ball and bringing others into play. But at times we do look like we are trying to walk the ball into the net, rather than go a bit more direct. Against a tall physical team like Tai Po it may not have worked, but a change of tactic would have been nice, especially when they sat back to preserve their lead. 

The attacking quality has allowed Kitchee to go unbeaten throughout the first five games of the season, but fan fears that this would come unstuck against a top team were realised. The physical strength of Lucas Silva posed a threat throughout, as did the physicality in midfield that Tai Po have. Given the lack of height in the side, it was not much of a surprise to see a long ball played in and not dealt with, giving Lucas the chance to score, with Kitchee having no outfield players over six foot by the time of the goal.

Ultimately while fans are disappointed with the result there are positives, and on another day Kitchee come away with all three points. The first half was very good, and Kitchee deserved a goal for their dominance, but could not quite make it count. In the second half Tai Po grew into the came and caused problems for our defence, and Lucas Silva capitalised. Questions could be asked about the formation change, as not only did it make us a look a bit unbalanced at times, it also restricted who we could bring on- after Tai Po scored we had no one that Cardoso felt comfortable turning too to chase an equaliser.

Hong Kong International roundup

Leon Jones, Fernando, Poon, Ngan Cheuk-pan and Juninho all started in the 1-0 defeat to Liechtenstein. Fernando, Leon and Juninho retained their starting berths for the 3-0 win over Cambodia, with the latter scoring a late goal to go with his two earlier assists. Ngan Cheuk-pan came off the bench.

What's next

Same opposition, but different stadium and different competition. We face Tai Po in the Senior Shield at Mong Kok on Saturday, 6pm kick off.

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Match highlights- on.cc

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, Cyprus and the Czech Republic. 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

Thanks to our photographers this week.

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Jarly