Sunday, 30 March 2025

Second half blitz ensures Kitchee leave Aberdeen with all three points- Southern 1 Kitchee 3

Kitchee's strong start to the second half blew Southern away, and eventually ended 3-1 winners. A lacklustre first half saw fans frustrated, but goals from Juninho, Temirov and Law Tsz-chun put Kitchee miles ahead, before a penalty with the last kick handed Southern a consolation.

Team news

Three of Kitchee's four Hong Kong starters returned to the starting lineup; Leon Jones, Juninho and Fernando, bu after playing 180 minutes for Hong Kong, Ngan Cheuk-pan was named on the bench, allowing Jay Haddow to continue in holding midfield. Fynn Talley also returned to the starting lineup after the Sapling Cup, with Helio and Tuscany dropping to the bench and youngsters Cheung Yiu-hin and Li Siu-hin returning to the youth teams. Poon Pui-hin was left out of the squad; in just over a year the forward has gone from scoring against China for Hong Kong to being left out of a league squad to play university football.

Talley; Law (Bae 71), Leon, Dantas, Jordan; Machado, Haddow (Ngan 71), Rey, Fernando (c) (Hin 87); Juninho (Lung 65), Temirov (Slattery 90)

Unused: Wang, Helio, Buddle, Tuscany, Jason

Match events

Southern started the first half strongly. After a long ball was not dealt with, Talley had to get down low to deny Acosta, and soon afterwards gathered Kawase's header from a corner. Jordan Lam's freekick was easily saved by Ivan Ng, before Temirov went close twice after good work from Machado. But these chances aside it was a very lacklustre first half, goalless as the teams came off the pitch. Much more was needed for the second half if Kitchee were going to come away with three points.

And change they did. A shift to a more direct style of play began to pay off, as Kitchee ditched the fancy tricks and flicks. In the first five minutes of the second half, Fernando and Jordan Lam combined down the left, and Fernando hit the post from range, with Juninho scoring the rebound. After Southern failed to clear their lines, Luis Machado missed an open goal, failing to capitalise on good work by Temirov. But cometh the hour, cometh the man; Jordan Lam's corner was expertly headed in by the Uzbek forward at the front post for his tenth goal of the season. Minutes later, good work again from Temirov and Machado saw Temirov turn provider, with Law Tsz-chun of all people tapping it in on the line. Fernando blazed over when a fourth goal looked on the cards, while Ivan Ng denied Temirov again after a long ball forward from Leon Jones. With the last kick of the game Southern got a soft penalty as Machado pushed Shu Sasaki; Kessi converted to deny Kitchee their clean sheet, but Kitchee still had their first win in four.

Fans feedback

Much-improved second half display ensured the result was never in doubt, and clearly something was said at half time to spark the team into life. The story of Kitchee's first half was too many fancy tricks and flicks that didn't come off, but the second half saw more directness, with Machado in particular being more straightforward. Temirov was outstanding, and moved onto 10 league goals and 13 in all comps, the Uzbek forward being a menace up top with his work rate and probably should have had two or three. Law Tsz-chun recovered from a shaky start to the game to look solid and pop up with a goal. After early Southern pressure, they offered minimal threat as the defence held firm, although Talley had to react quickly early on. They deserved the clean sheet, but the harsh penalty awarded prevented this. A solid team performance, and with six games left fans hope for a few more of these, even though the title is gone.

What's on

This week we play Saturday at 6pm again against North District. We won 5-0 in the same fixture just a few weeks ago, but North District have won both their games since then. The returns to full fitness for Ruslan Mingazow and Tan Chun-lok are expected in a few weeks, while Jay Haddow and Sherzod Temirov go into this game on four yellow cards, and will hope to stay out of the referee's notebook so as not to miss Lee Man away the week after.

Match highlights

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Sunday, 23 March 2025

Late equaliser all but confirms a first trophyless season in well over a decade- Eastern 1 Kitchee 1

Credits to Jarly
A late Eastern equaliser pretty much condemned Kitchee to the first trophyless season in fifteen years,with a Sapling Cup exit and a miracle required in the league. With seven players away with Hong Kong's senior and under 22 teams, six teenagers were promoted to the first team squad, with three making their debuts at Siu Sai Wan. Jay Haddow's goal early in the second half gave Kitchee the lead, but the common theme of Kitchee failing to take their chances gave Eastern hope, with an 86th minute equaliser knocking Kitchee out.

Team news

Six teenagers were promoted to first team squad, with seven players away with Hong Kong at senior and youth levels. There were six changes to the starting line up, with Tuscany, Helio, Jordan Lam, Jay Haddow, and debutants Cheung Yiu-hin and Li Siu-hin coming in. Lam Pak-yin came on at half time for his debut, and Welthon made his first appearance in weeks after recovering from concussion when he came on late on. New teenagers Pang Hing-lun and Yiu Tsz-leong were unused subs, alongside Yu Ching-wai, who played one minute in this competition last season.

Line up: Tuscany; Law, Helio, Dantas, Jordan; Haddow (Bae 78) Rey, Li; Cheung (Lam 45), Temirov (Welthon 82), Machado

Unused subs: Wang, Lung, Poon, Buddle, Yeung, Pang, Yu, Yiu

Match events

Credits to Kitchee

Noah Baffoe, whose pace has caused Kitchee constant problems in recent meetings, blasted a shot over early on, before Luis Machado had a shot blocked. An inviting cross from Jordan Lam couldn't be turned by one of many bodies, and debutant Li Siu-hin went close from long range. Kitchee were probably the better team at halfway, and hoped to push on in the second half.

Credits to Kitchee
At half time Lam Pak-yin came on for his debut, replacing Cheung Yiu-hin. In the opening exchanges, a lovely cross from Jordan Lam found Temirov, whose header was saved, and in trying to reach the rebound was kicked in the head by Mitrovic, the Eastern centre back. Machado played a freekick into the box, which got a Kitchee touch onto the post, but couldn't be forced in on the rebound. Kitchee's sustained pressure paid off, as Jordan's corner was flicked on by Temirov to find Jay Haddow at the back post, giving the youngster his first senior goal. A smart save from Tuscany to deny Gondra's long range effort kept Kitchee ahead despite increasing Eastern pressure, and Kitchee were handed a golden opportunity to double the lead when Callum Hall gave the ball away. Temirov, Li and Machado bore down on goal, but Machado shot straight at the goalkeeper. This came back to haunt Kitchee as minutes later Eastern equalised. Kitchee did not deal with a long throw and despite suspicions of offside in the build up young winger Gao Ming-ho was left unmarked at the back post. Welthon had a good chance late on from a header, but despite getting free he headed into the ground and it was cleared. 

Fans feedback

Credits to Kitchee
Yet another missed opportunity with a late goal conceded. Kitchee had played well until that stage, but an inability to finish chances will haunt us again. Machado and Rey wasted amazing opportunities, and on more than one occasion Kitchee had the ball in the box without anyone able to get the ball in. Cardoso was again reluctant to use subs, only making one before the 78th minute, and as fans we can guess that the significantly reduced gametime for Poon Pui-hin and Cheng Chin-lung means they are out the door in the summer. Jay Haddow impressed, getting a goal to round off a frustrating first season, as injuries and a delay in his Hong Kong passport limiting him to only ten games so far. In holding midfield he was all over the pitch, using his recovery pace to bail out mistakes from his teammates. Tuscany Shek made some good saves in goal, and his distribution has improved as the season has gone on, being a major beneficiary of the U22 league. Kitchee's debutants all looked assured; seventeen year old Li Siu-hin (who scored the opener at Kai Tak for the U22s) played the full 90 and had a good effort from range, while sixteen year olds Cheung Yiu-hin and Lam Pak-yin brought energy down the right hand side, and we hope to see more of them next season.
Credits to Kitchee

Diego Bardanca's contract has been terminated, with the defender not featuring in the league for five months, and at all for the last three. The Filipino centre back's flaws were recognised early on, with Dantas being brought in to replace him. It had also been reported that Welthon's contract had been terminated as well, but the sight of him on the Kitchee bench proved these rumours to be false (some say the termination was offered but declined).

Credits to Jarly
Earlier this week, Hong Kong beat Macau 2-0, with Leon Jones scoring his first international goal in the first half, while playing seventy six minutes. Juninho was rested to prepare for the crucial qualifier in Singapore on Tuesday, with Ngan Cheuk-pan playing the full match, and Fernando withdrawn at half time with Tuesday in mind. A lacklustre and uninspiring performance from Hong Kong but it extends the winning run to seven. Hong Kong's under 22s had a 0-0 and a 2-2 draw in friendlies with Myanmar, with Matthew Slattery, Chen Ngo-hin and Jason Kam all started one game and came on in the other. Kitchee loanee Sohgo Ichikawa scored in the second game, as did former Kitchee academy striker Michael Udebuluzor.

Baring a miracle, this will be Kitchee's first trophyless season since 2009/10, and if we ignore the Community Cup/Shield it was 2008/09. Fan thinking that Cardoso took on Kitchee in season one of a rebuild has gone on the backburners, given the scarce opportunities given to younger players.

What's next

Credits to Jarly
Kitchee travel to Southern on Saturday, a 3pm kick off in Aberdeen. The season is basically a write off, so as fans we hope to see more minutes for young players, as they are more likely to be around next season. Hong Kong's qualifier on Tuesday is on RTHK 32 at 8.30pm, and we hope Kitchee's four players can contribute to a win.

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Kitchee highlights

Hong Kong highlights

Sunday, 16 March 2025

Everton's second half goal compounds Kitchee's misery- Kitchee 0 Lee Man 1

Everton's second half goal condemned Kitchee to their third defeat in four in front of a crowd of over a thousand at Mong Kok Stadium. Both sides had later goals disallowed for infringements: a Lee Man second was pulled back for a foul on Bae, and Temirov's header was ruled out for an offside in the build up. It is now almost four years since we defeated Lee Man in the league, and a lack of activity on the bench and evidentially fatigued players on the pitch saw more criticism and anger directed towards Cardoso. 

Team news

Only one change from last week's big win over North District, as Law Tsz-chun came in for the suspended Jordan Lam. The injured trio of Welthon, Mingazow and Tan Chun-lok watched from the stands again.

Talley; Bae, Leon, Dantas, Law; Machado, Ngan, Rey, Fernando; Juninho (Hin 28), Temirov

Subs: Wang, Helio, Haddow, Lung, Poon, Buddle, Tuscany, Slattery, Jason

Match highlights

A nice Kitchee move down the left hand side early on saw Temirov get the ball on the edge of the box, but his first time effort went wide. Fynn Talley was called into action much more frequently than his opposite number, making good saves from Anier and Wong Wai as the first half went on. Kitchee's attack massively faltered when Juninho was withdrawn around the half hour mark, replaced by Chen Ngo-hin in what turned out to be Kitchee's only change of the game. This prompted a reshuffle, with Machado moving centrally in behind Temirov, and Hin going to right wing. 0-0, and all to play for.

Talley made another good stop as Lee Man were in the ascendency, and the away side took a deserved lead on the counter attack. Law Tsz-chun was caught in two minds and was far too close to Dantas, which allowed Paulissen to find Everton in acres of space, and the talismanic winger scored with a first time finish. Soon afterwards Lee Man thought they'd doubled their lead as another swift counter cut through Kitchee's non-existent midfield. Everton beat Bae to the ball (albeit illegally) and Anier had no defender anywhere near him before scoring; but VAR pulled it back for Everton's foul. From one of their few second half attacks, Kitchee had the ball in the net through Temirov, but again VAR intervened; Fernando's freekick was flicked on by Temirov, Ngan Cheuk-pan looped the ball back into the area and Temirov scored. VAR saw Leon Jones in an offside position, and he was judged to be interfering with play in the build up; being slightly in the goalkeeper's eyeline as Ngan played it across. Kitchee's only other chance at a late equaliser came from another set piece; Machado finding Dantas, but both his header and the resulting loose ball could not be forced in, however it was also flagged for offside.

Fan feedback

Ruben Amorim may be the most high-profile Portuguese manager at a level he is ill-equipped to be at, but Edgar Cardoso is worse, given he had the benefit of a full pre-season. Yet another game after the Kowloon City fiasco where he is terrified of making subs; his sole change on Saturday was injury-enforced in the first half, following on from the Tai Po defeat in the FA Cup (no subs after the 79th minute despite going to extra time) and the demolition of North District (one tactical sub when down to ten, but the remaining subs were not made until the closing stages when we were 5-0 up). While it is obvious that our remaining offensive players on the bench are not consistent enough at this level, and there is little need for an extra defender at 1-0 down, it is frankly disgraceful that Cardoso felt a tiring attack did not need any refreshing. Temirov, Machado, Rey and the 38 year old Fernando have played a lot of football in recent weeks, and it is becoming more and more apparent, with players looking shattered and at least one cramping up towards the end. Slattery looked bright in his short cameo last week (although we were 5-0 up) and even Poon or Lung would have refreshed the squad, and the potential introduction of Helio or Haddow off the bench might have facilitated a push to three at the back and more of an attacking threat. While against Tai Po Cardoso shoved Helio up front, there was no attempt to do similar with Dantas. It felt as though he had given up completely, and there is still no sign of activity in the transfermarket, despite obvious struggles in midfield and up front, although it is possibly a budgetary issue, with Kim Shin-wook's big wages undoubtedly affecting recruitment.

In addition to the fatigue, players look absolutely lost for ideas, relying on moments of magic or luck to get them through. There are no tactics, and the 4 wins earlier in 2025 are looking more fluky as the season goes on. The season is basically over, with faint hopes of a title challenge diminishing by the day, and the odds being stacked against us for the Sapling Cup. Lee Man were physically dominant, but also swift on the counter attack, and although Kitchee were better than in previous defeats, they offered very little to win.

What's next

Two internationals for Hong Kong; a home friendly against Macau and a crucial Asian Cup qualifier in Singapore. Leon Jones, Fernando, Ngan Cheuk-pan and Juninho continue their key roles in Ashley Westwood's squads. In between Kitchee have a must-win Sapling Cup tie against Eastern, but Jason Kam, Chen Ngo-hin and Matthew Slattery are away with Hong Kong under 23s in Myanmar. This game is Saturday 22nd, 6pm, Siu Sai Wan, and we will see some new young players on the bench, as Tuscany Shek and Tom Yeung are our remaining local under 22 players for the Sapling Cup, after Wesley Chan left in January for his university studies.

Match highlights

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Sunday, 9 March 2025

5 star Kitchee bounce back in style against poor North District side- Kitchee 5 North District 0

Kitchee were dominant in their return to winning ways, as first half goals from Machado, Rey and Juninho theoretically put Kitchee in the driving seat, although after last weeks capitulations naturally fans were nervous. Jordan Lam's sending off for two bookings just before the hour saw Kitchee play over half an hour with ten men, and despite some signs of resurgence from North District, two goals in quick succession from Juninho and Temirov sealed victory.

Team news

Welthon remained out alongside Mingazow and Tan Chun-lok, and the starting line up was unchanged. Law Tsz-chun's appearance off the bench was his 150th in a Kitchee shirt. Matthew Slattery made his first league appearance of the season, coming on in the closing stages. 

Talley; Bae, Leon, Dantas, Jordan; Machado, Ngan (Haddow 84), Rey (Lung 89), Fernando (c) (Law 64); Juninho (Chen 89), Temirov (Slattery 84)

Unused subs: Wang, Helio, Poon, Buddle, Tuscany, Jason

Match highlights

Temirov had an early header tipped over, but after seventeen minutes Kitchee broke the deadlock. Juninho's cross was defended terribly, and Machado pounced to score. The Portuguese winger had an opportunity to double the lead soon afterwards, but his tame effort was hit straight at the goalkeeper. Just after the half hour, Kitchee's attack linked up well to double the advantage. Aaron Rey passed to Juninho on the edge of the box, and the latter's shot was saved. Fernando hit a cross/shot on the rebound which the goalkeeper also kept out, but could only go as far as Aaron Rey. The Spaniard set himself and scored. Two minutes later a long ball forward from Juninho was chased down by Temirov, who played it back to Juninho to score with a lovely finish. As the half came to a close Talley was finally properly called into action to tip a shot away, and Kitchee were coasting, but fans, players and coaches were perhaps fearful of a comeback after the events of the last 10 days.

Juninho went close from range in the opening stages of the second half, before Kitchee went down to ten men, as Jordan Lam picked up two yellow cards in ten minutes. This prompted a reshuffle; Fernando was replaced by Law, who moved to left back, with Juninho coming onto the left wing. Talley spilled a freekick, being acrobatically rescued by Bae Jae-woo's clearance. North District were buoyed by the advantage and pushed forward a bit more, but Kitchee held firm. A lovely cross from Temirov was flicked first time by Rey and Machado, finding Juninho who doubled his tally for the afternoon. Barely a minute later Ngan Cheuk-pan's through ball found Temirov, and the Uzbek forward capped his strong attacking performance with a goal, after finding himself one on one with the keeper. This finally triggered Cardoso to make the remaining changes: Haddow, Slattery, Cheng Chin-lung and Chen Ngo-hin helping to see out the win and the clean sheet.

Fan feedback

A comfortable 5-0 win, which hopefully builds confidence for playing Lee Man next week. North District were poor and offered little, but we still scored some very nice goals. The only downside was Jordan Lam's sending off for two silly yellow cards, meaning Law Tsz-chun plays left back against Lee Man and marking Everton. There was naturally reluctance from Cardoso to make changes after the collapses of previous weeks, but the subs should have been made earlier- Law coming on at left back aside, there were no other subs until well past the eightieth minute. Temirov has played over eighty minutes in each of Kitchee's last seven games. Despite rounding off the scoring, it still took five minutes before he came off, to be replaced by Matthew Slattery for his first league appearance of the season. The team adjusted well to Jordan's red card; while there were less attacks we defended well and still scored twice. A fifth clean sheet of the season but there were some shaky moments spilling shots, and needed to be bailed out by Bae Jae-woo's acrobatic clearance in the first half.

What's next

We welcome Lee Man to Mong Kok at 6pm on Saturday 15th, on 'Super Saturday' with fellow title challengers Tai Po and Eastern facing off in a huge weekend for the league. In the week we also will find out which players are going away with Hong Kong for the upcoming games.
Match highlights

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Saturday, 1 March 2025

Two games, two 2-0 leads and two 3-2 defeats. An absolute embarrassment- Kitchee 2 Kowloon City 3 and Kitchee 2 Tai Po 3


Kitchee have had a terrible week. First they were stunned at home by Kowloon City, for the first defeat of 2025. First half goals from Aaron Rey and Juninho had Kitchee in a comfortable position. But after Cardoso withdrew the pair and Fernando with an eye on Saturday's cup game, Kowloon City burst into life, scoring three goals in five minutes, and Kitchee had no response, falling to a 3-2 defeat, their first in the league after scoring first since March 2020. Kitchee's week got worse on Saturday, where 2-0 up after 26 minutes became a 3-2 defeat after extra time. Fernando and Temirov scored in the first half, before Philip Chan pulled one back just before half time. A side devoid of ideas stumbled towards full time, eventually playing a 5-4-1 to try and see out the game, but 83rd and 115th minute goals from Philip Chan completed his hat trick, leaving Kitchee fans absolutely fuming, especially as it seemed Cardoso refused to acknowledge tired legs or the need for attacking impetus.

Kitchee 2-3 Kowloon City
Team news
Matheus Dantas was suspended, but Leon Jones was fit to start after coming off at half time at HKFC. Tan Chun-lok and Ruslan Mingazow remained out. Aaron Rey returned to the starting lineup, alongside Helio and Chen Ngo-hin, with Jordan Lam and Bae Jae-woo coming onto the bench. 

Lineup: Talley, Haddow, Leon, Helio (c), Law (Jordan 78); Chen (Machado 78), Ngan, Rey (Lung 46), Fernando (Poon 60); Juninho (Welthon 60, Bae 86), Temirov
Unused subs: Wang, Buddle, Tuscany, Slattery, Jason

Match highlights
Kitchee went close early on, with Chen Ngo-hin getting on the end of Fernando's cross, but was unable to divert it in. A lovely long ball forward from Haddow found Juninho who ran through to score, but a lengthy VAR check pulled it back for offside. Pinball in the Kitchee box saw a number of bodies go down, and a Kowloon City penalty was awarded (overturned by VAR) around the half hour. Aaron Rey opened the scoring after a pass from Fernando, and Juninho doubled the score in stoppage time with an outrageous overhead kick (also assisted by Fernando), as the teams played ten additional minutes owing to both VAR checks.

As the clock ticked towards seventy minutes it seemed as if Kitchee would stroll to victory- there was very little offered by Kowloon City, and Kitchee had chances to increase their lead, while bringing off Rey, Fernando and Juninho with Saturday's FA Cup quarter final in mind. Kowloon City then pulled a goal back with a low shot from the edge of the box, and barely a minute later Gaucho was left unmarked at the far post to equalise. A complete collapse, and absolutely embarrassing, but it was about to get worse. Within five minutes, Kowloon City took the lead, a long throw finding its way to Kayron who found it far too easy to score from the edge of the box. Luis Machado and Jordan Lam were sent on to chase the game, but any chance of a draw (or win) was damaged by Welthon's collapse, later ruled to be a concussion, with the Brazilian taken to hospital, which gave us the opportunity to use a concussion sub, but Bae Jae-woo was preferred to Slattery, despite the desperation for a goal. Helio was pushed up front as an extra body, and the captain's knockdown should have been buried by Poon Pui-hin, who missed a sitter. Kowloon City almost scored a 4th on the counter attack, but Talley got down well to keep it 3-2. A shambolic collapse and the players should hang their heads in shame.

Fan feedback
There are no words to describe how embarrassing the second half collapse was. Kitchee should have been completely out of sight, but allowing our opponents a route back in to the match was awful. There has been too much reliance in recent weeks on moments of magic in attack. Ngan Cheuk-pan massively exposed in central midfield, as he tries his best as our sole central midfielder but has limited support. If the club want to, they have until the end of March to bring in another body, although Tan Chun-lok is on the mend and hopefully available in the coming weeks. There is far too much complacency in the side, which after allowing North District to come back into the opener and earn a point, we had hoped had left the side.

Cardoso was complacent in bringing off Rey, Fernando and Juninho with an eye on the FA Cup (and the route to ACL2 qualification), and the replacements did not deliver- a decision that looks even worse considering Saturday's capitulation. While we can understand the rationale behind the subs, the mentality of the team was not there to see out what should have been a comfortable win. Credit has to go to Kowloon City for capitalising on poor defending and achieving arguably their biggest result as a HKPL team.

Welthon was withdrawn following a nasty collapse, and fans were relieved to hear he was released him hospital prior to Saturday's game. Questions have to be asked about the impact of his initial clash of heads while the game was still 2-0- if there were signs of concussion then, he spent at least fifteen more minutes on the pitch before collapsing. Back to tactics- it was stupid of Cardoso to then use the additional concussion sub on bringing on Bae, rather than Slattery as an attacking option. There is no point in the U22 league if Kitchee's striker at this level is not used in a game when we are desperately chasing a goal, and instead we bring on a full back and put a thirty nine year old centre back up front.

Kitchee 2 Tai Po 3
Team news
Dantas returned from suspension, but Welthon was absent through concussion. Kitchee made four changes (Bae, Dantas, Machado and Jordan in for Haddow, Helio, Law and Chen) as they sought to bounce back from Wednesday's embarrassing collapse.

Talley; Bae, Leon, Dantas, Jordan; Machado (Law 79), Ngan, Rey, Fernando (Helio 63); Juninho, Temirov
Unused subs: Wang, Haddow, Lung, Poon, Chen, Buddle, Tuscany, Slattery, Jason

Match highlights
Kitchee had the first big chance of the game when a long ball down the left found Temirov. His effort was saved by Tse Ka-wing, and Juninho's effort on the rebound was blocked. Fernando opened the scoring from long range not long afterwards for his fourth goal in six games, and ninth goal contribution this season, all of which have come since the away win at Tai Po. Not long afterwards, Temirov looped in a header from Jordan Lam's free kick and Kitchee were coasting. Valverde had Tai Po's first chance of note, firing wide from outside the box. As the game came towards half time, Philip Chan evaded the Kitchee defence to head in at the far post, and you could sense the nerves amongst the Kitchee fanbase following Wednesday. The goal revitalised Tai Po, with Bae Jae-woo having to clear off the line. Kitchee had one more chance in the first half, with Temirov and Fernando battling for the ball, but Fernando couldn't get any power on the header and the chance faded.

Kitchee started the second half with a golden chance. Dantas played a long ball up to Temirov, but the Uzbek was denied. It then became the Tai Po show- Talley made great saves from Philip Chan and Lee Ka-ho as the league leaders chased an equaliser. By this point, Kitchee had withdrawn both wingers and set up in a 5-4-1, offering absolutely nothing going forward. After more Kitchee inability to deal with set pieces, Philip Chan scored an inevitable equaliser, and extra time beckoned. 

Despite Kitchee playing over a hundred minutes on Wednesday, Cardoso did not freshen the team up for the additional thirty minutes, despite a number of players warming up for most of the second half. Tai Po continued to have all of the ball, with the only 'attacking' move being to move Helio into midfield- not a great look for the youngsters on the bench that a thirty nine year old centre back is preferred to join the attack. Habib went close and Weverton hit the post after Bae failed to clear, but Kitchee did absolutely nothing in extra time, opting to play for penalties with six defenders on the pitch. Once again Philip Chan found space in the box and seal the comeback in the 115th minute, and once again Cardoso did nothing, not sending on Poon, Chen or Slattery in an attempt to drag the game to penalties. Another humiliating collapse, and the players and staff have a lot to answer for, both for the complacency shown on the pitch and the lack of changes when the side were clearly knackered and bereft of ideas.

Fan feedback
Another game, another embarrassing collapse. This result in isolation would be bad enough, ending another possible route into ACL competition. But considering Cardoso essentially sacrificed Wednesday's result to focus on Saturday, it looks even worse. The players looked complacent, and while it is understandable some players tired after playing almost 250 minutes in 72 hours, the refusal of Cardoso to make any changes cost us. Yet again, there was limited attacking threat- Fernando's outrageous longshot breaking the deadlock, and Kitchee had almost no shots after the 50th minute. The injuries to Fernando and Machado did not help, but from the 80th minute to the 120th minute no changes were made. It has often been the case this season that there is a lack of trust in the bench, and this was made apparent on Saturday.

The long term injuries to Tan Chun-lok and Mingazow have affected our depth, and no serious attempts have been made by the staff to bring in replacements- Lok has been injured since early November, and we have looked overrun in midfield as Ngan Cheuk-pan tires from being our only midfielder. Whether the subs could have been fresh legs in extra time at 2-2, or as an attempt to rescue an equaliser in the dying moments, they were not used. Similar happened in the Senior Shield defeat to Lee Man, when Cardoso only made one sub throughout the whole game. Fans are never going to fault the likes of Helio for their years of service, but twice in two games our attempts to chase the game have been to put him up front, rather than using actual attacking players sitting on our bench. 

If the Kitchee staff wish to bring in reinforcements, they have until the end of the month, but it seems stubbornness off the pitch, and a refusal to change tactics and personnel on it, have caused our season to more or less come to an end in early March. It will take a miracle to win the lead, and we still have to play four games against the teams above us in our final nine. For us to have any chance of silverware we have to first overcome Eastern in the Sapling Cup group stage with a depleted side owing to Hong Kong duty, and then win a semi final and a final. The 2009-10 season was our last without a major trophy, going back to 2008-09 if you ignore the Community Cup (Hong Kong's equivalent of the Community Shield, which has not been a part of the Hong Kong calendar for years). Fan frustrations were boiling over, with angry fan reactions at full time having to be mediated by assistant Nando Recio. Time will tell if Ken Ng gives Cardoso until the end of the season as there is no obvious replacement within the coaching setup, unless technical director Jordi Tarres (who holds a UEFA Pro Licence) is moved into an interim coaching role. Something needs to change- despite the unbeaten start to 2025 only ending this week, performances have not been good enough, with the side regularly over-reliant on moments of brilliance to bail them out, and there is no clear tactical philosophy.


What's next and other news
North District at home in the league on Saturday 8th, where anything less than a win surely means Cardoso is fired. Nine Kitchee players were called up to the home friendly against Macau and the World Cup qualifier away in Singapore taking place later this month. Leon Jones, Helio, Jordan Lam, Poon Pui-hin, Tan Chun-lok, Fernando, Ngan Cheuk-pan, Juninho and Matthew Slattery will be hoping to make the final 23.

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Sunday, 16 February 2025

Kitchee emerge victorious from the jungle- HKFC 1 Kitchee 3

Photo by Scoop
By Adam O'Domhnaill

For the third time in four weeks, Kitchee came from behind to win, and extend the unbeaten run to six (with four wins on the spin). Callum Beattie gave HKFC a shock first half lead, but Fernando levelled on the verge of half time, continuing his good goalscoring form. Beattie then turned villain, scoring a comical own goal to put Kitchee ahead. A controversial penalty given against Dantas provided Scally with the chance to equalise, but Fynn Talley held firm to deny him. Despite HKFC continuing to push for an equaliser, Sherzod Temirov wrapped up the win in stoppage time.

Team news

Photo by Scoop
Kitchee had two enforced changes, with the suspended Bae Jae-woo and Aaron Rey replaced by Luis Machado and Jay Haddow, the latter for his first start since early October. Jordan Lam had not recovered from his hamstring injury, so he remained with Mingazow and Tan Chun-lok on the injury list. Diego Bardanca joined the bench for the first time in the league since October. Kitchee retained the 4-4-2 formation of previous weeks, with a positional swap as Juninho moved into central midfield to allow Machado to return to the right wing.

Talley; Haddow, Leon (Helio 45), Dantas, Law, Machado (Chen 59), Ngan, Juninho, Fernando (Poon 73), Temirov, Welthon (Lung 82)

Unused subs: Wang, Buddle, Bardanca, Tuscany, Slattery, Jason

Match highlights

Photo by Scoop
Kitchee had the first real chance of the match when Dantas fired a loose ball from a set piece straight at Toomer in the HKFC net, before Leo Peres almost gave HKFC a shock lead. The Brazilian capitalised on some shoddy defending but could only hit the post. Toomer then denied Junior as Kitchee looked to be in the ascendency, but the defence was not looking solid at all. Prior to this game, HKFC had only scored five goals against Kitchee since 2006, but they took the lead when Callum Beattie played a corner short to Oscar Benavides and received the ball back in the channel. He took the ball inside unopposed, and curled a lovely effort into the far corner right in front of Sportsman's Bar. Temirov went close to an equaliser but it looked as if Kitchee would go into the break trailing for the second game in a row. But deep into a lengthy period of stoppage time Welthon set up Law, who played in Fernando to curl in a beautiful right footed effort first time. 

Photo by Scoop
Within five minutes of the second half, Beattie turned from hero to zero, inadvertently turning Fernando's cross into his own net, and the travelling fans felt as if a big win was on the cards, with Welthon going close a couple of times. But with fifteen minutes to go HKFC won a penalty, as Dantas was adjudged to have led with his elbow when beating former Kitchee centre back Andy Russell to the ball. The Brazilian earned a yellow card for this, with VAR confirming it was not a red card offence, but as it was his fifth caution he will miss our next game. Scottish winger Scally stepped up, having scored two penalties already this season, but he was denied by Fynn Talley diving to his right. As the second half went on Kitchee really should have put the game to bed; impressive substitute Chen Ngo-hin went close with a curling effort, only denied by a stunning Toomer save, and the Englishman in the HKFC net thwarted many more attacks. But as HKFC threw caution to the wind, Kitchee capitalised to score their third. A long ball forward toward Temirov was not cleared, and pressure from Lung forced a sloppy clearance. Juninho had loads of time to set up Temirov, whose deflected effort was his tenth of the season in all competitions.

Fan feedback

Photo by Scoop
Kitchee made much harder work of this game than they needed to, but HKFC are improving, as shown by the return fixture where it was only 2-0 until stoppage time. It is a fourth win in a row for the Kitchee machine and a sixth game unbeaten, propelling us into second place in the league. After not coming from behind to win in the league for years we have now done it three times in four weeks, showing a determination that hasn't always been there, both this season and in the past. Key to our recent winning streak have been Fernando and Temirov, who having spent large parts of the first half of the season on the bench or playing out of position have come in following the draw to Eastern and the switch to 4-4-2. Fernando on the left wing has three goals and three assists in four games, winning the man of the match award three times. Temirov has three goals playing through the middle in the last four games, and is on double figures for the campaign.

Photo by Scoop
Talley's penalty save was crucial to our success, as the slither of hope HKFC had of a positive result was extinguished. HKFC were defensively solid as they were earlier this season- the veterans Toomer Russell and Sealy cementing this, but Kitchee looked a bit short of ideas, the goals being a wondergoal from Fernando, an own goal, and a counter attack as HKFC committed men forward, although Kitchee were all over HKFC for large portions of the game. Law at left back, while not being a natural left footer, was constantly overlapping, even if the one occasion he did not Fernando had a go at him. But Law was key to our equaliser, slipping the ball onto Fernando to work his magic and continue his exceptional run of form.

Photo by Scoop
Dantas and Helio (on at half time for Leon Jones) threw themselves in the way of a number of HKFC attacks to preserve the win. Helio probably comes in next game as Dantas serves a one match ban for five cautions; since joining the club in October he has started thirteen of the fourteen games we have played. Juninho and Ngan Cheuk-pan were an unbalanced central midfield combination, and we look forward to the return of Aaron Rey and Bae Jae-woo from suspension, and hopefully Jordan Lam coming back from injury. Rey coming into midfield may allow Juninho to move forward into the front pairing- Welthon and Temirov do not click well together. Chen and Poon offered energy off the bench that we lacks as levels dropped, but the pair need to work on passing and finishing if they want to start regularly. It was great to see Jay Haddow get his first senior start in four months, and complete the full ninety minutes injury free. 

What's next

Photo by Muudesign
We have a break until our next game, taking on Kowloon City on Wednesday 26th at Mong Kok, 8pm kickoff. We follow this up with an FA Cup quarter final against Tai Po on Saturday 1st March. Kitchee are currently in second, three points off Tai Po having played the same number of games, and Lee Man's comeback victory over Eastern means that four teams are still challenging for the league, with ten games remaining.

Match highlights

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Monday, 10 February 2025

Poor first half but Welthon's second half brace rescues an important three points- Rangers 1 Kitchee 2

By Adam O'Domhnaill

Credits to Kitchee
Kitchee found themselves trailing at half time as Lau Chi-lok scored after the Kitchee defence failed to deal with a long ball. The second half was an improvement, but Welthon scored his first goals since late November to ensure Kitchee went away with all three points 

Team news

Luis Machado was suspended and Jordan Lam injured, and the pair joined Ruslan Mingazow and Tan Chun-lok on the sidelines. Law and Welthon came in, as Kitchee retained the 4-4-2 from previous weeks, with Law at left back, Juninho at right wing and Welthon and Temirov as a front two. Fernando captained for his 200th Kitchee appearance.

Talley; Bae (Haddow 90), Leon, Dantas, Law (Helio 80); Juninho (Poon 90), Ngan, Rey (Lung 45), Fernando (Chen 80); Welthon, Temirov

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

Match highlights

Ngan Cheuk-pan's driving run set up Temirov, who shot straight at the goalkeeper, and Juninho's attempts to acrobatically steer Fernando's cross towards goal met the same outcome. Kitchee were all over Rangers, and Welthon went close from a corner. Against the run of play, Rangers scored with their first real chance. A long ball from recent arrival Maxwell Ansan was flicked into Lau Chi-lok by Tai Po loanee Biteco. Biteco then received the ball back, lofting a pass over the Kitchee defence and Lau Chi-lok scored past Talley. Chan Kun-sun in the Rangers goal kept them ahead at the break, tipping over Juninho's header from Fernando's cross. Kitchee went in at half time 1-0 down, with many fans annoyed.

Credits to Kitchee

Half time saw the booked Rey withdrawn for Cheng Chin-lung after a poor first half. Ngan Cheuk-pan and Dantas hit tame efforts from range that were easily dealt with. But just under ten minutes into the half, another Fernando cross (this time on his right foot) was headed in by Welthon, who broke his goal drought of over five hundred minutes. This duo almost combined again after Fernando drove from deep, but Welthon nodded just wide. Just after the hour veteran captain Helio was introduced, and the team switched to a 3-5-2 formation. Bae and Fernando were used as wing backs, with Ngan, Lung and Juninho in the midfield. After seventy minutes, Juninho's cross was spilled by Chan in goal and Welthon reacted quickest to scramble the ball home, but the linesman's flag cut the celebrations short. After a brief interlude for a VAR check in the referee's earpiece, the goal was given, and Kitchee had twenty minutes to see out the win, with little action of note- one shot from Juninho that was saved. The late introduction of Jay Haddow marked the youngster's first senior minutes for Kitchee in over three months after a number of injury issues. A win is a win, but it was not pretty.

Fan feedback

A lack of tactical linkup in the first half meant we failed to score despite having the lion's share of possession. The partnership of Welthon and Temirov offered little connection, and Fernando was the only one offering any threat, with a number of good crosses into the box. The absences of Jordan Lam and Luis Machado greatly affected Kitchee's attacking build up- Law stepped in at left back but offered zero overlap, and Juninho was drawn centrally with not a lot of threat from Bae Jae-woo down the right hand side. Aaron Rey had his worst game in a while, with passes often going astray, and he was hooked at half time, with his replacement Cheng Chin-lung looking a bit more assured in his place. The returns of Machado and hopefully Jordan Lam next week will give us an attacking impetus we lacked this week.

The defence was exposed to a long ball over the top, allowing Rangers to score with their only real chance. A lack of communication compounded with poor positioning in defence and midfield left Biteco unmarked, who showed his quality to set up Lau Chi-lok, the veteran striker finding it far too easy to get in behind. Kitchee's build up from the back was poor compared to previous weeks, despite the increased consistency of selection- 8 players started for the third game in a row. Kitchee's lack of discipline was a concern, with five yellow cards, and those for Aaron Rey and Bae Jae-woo result in the pair being suspended next week. 

Kitchee keep up the somewhat positive momentum with a third win in a row, and will look to press on with two more with HKFC and Kowloon City next up. Tai Po are still out in front of the four-way title fight, but consistent performances from us will set us up well to challenge for trophies on three fronts.

What's next

Credits to Scoop
Hong Kong Football Club away next Sunday at 4.30pm. We will be without Mingazow and Tan Chun-lok through injury again, with Bae Jae-woo and Aaron Rey both suspended. Hopefully we have Machado and Jordan Lam back for a potentially tricky away trip, with HKFC beating Tai Po a few weeks back.

Match highlights

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Monday, 3 February 2025

Eastern destroyed as unbeaten league run continues- Kitchee 3 Eastern 0

By Adam O'Domhnaill
Kitchee's unbeaten run in the league stretched to six games as first half goals from Temirov, Fernando and Aaron Rey saw off our rivals. The second half passed without much incident, and served as an opportunity for players to get minutes into the legs.

Team news

For the first time this season, Kitchee named an unchanged starting eleven to take on Eastern, who had played on Thursday in their Senior Shield triumph.

Talley; Bae (Law 84), Leon, Dantas (Helio 84), Jordan; Machado, Ngan, Rey (Welthon 56) , Fernando (c) (Lung 56); Juninho (Poon 72), Temirov

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

Match highlights

A dinked cross from Machado found Temirov unmarked in the box, and the Uzbek headed in to give Kitchee the lead after five minutes. Talley had to be alert to keep Narh's header and Gondra's driven effort out, keeping Kitchee ahead. After half an hour good pressure in midfield from Aaron Rey allowed the Spaniard to play in Temirov, who selflessly set up Fernando, and the captain for the day scored again. The first half continued to be all Kitchee- a pointlessly long VAR check for a possible Kitchee penalty did not prove anything, and Machado went close, being kept out by Yapp. Midway through the eight additional minutes (the majority as a result of the VAR check), good work from Temirov, Fernando and Juninho down the left wing played the ball across the box, and despite Yapp's initial save, Rey was on hand to beat Jojo to the rebound, and Kitchee were in dreamland at 3-0 up, with Eastern looking completely lost.

In the early exchanges of the second half, Eastern goalkeeper and Hong Kong captain Yapp Hung-fai was removed, and soon afterwards Rey and Fernando were withdrawn for Lung and Welthon, with mixed reports saying one or both may have had injury concerns. Temirov had two great chances to extend our lead- him and Machado led a counter attack but the former's first time effort went narrowly wide, and soon afterwards Temirov got a toe onto Ngan Cheuk-pan's ball over the top but Narh cleared his shot off the line. Substitute Welthon went close, but the second half ended goalless, and Kitchee are now unbeaten in four games to start 2025.

Fans feedback

After a disappointing 2024, Kitchee have come away with eight points from the first four games of 2025, and arguably could have got all twelve. The squad is playing with more purpose, and is in tune with Cardoso's desired tactical philosophy, and the attack looks much more potent. Fernando and Temirov have both scored in back to back games, and the defence has been solid. The quality further up the field has meant that Talley has not had much to do, but he did make two good saves at 1-0 and will be delighted to have achieved his fourth clean sheet of the season. Eastern looked like a team that had played on Thursday and aside from a bright spell in the first twenty minutes, tired very quickly and offered very little threat. That being said, Dantas was booked for a foul and was lucky not to receive a second yellow card, which could have changed the game.

Fans may be concernd at the potential injuries to Rey and Fernando, with the pair both coming off early in the second half, with Fernando seemingly injuring his hip. With Tan Chun-lok, Mingazow and Haddow all long-term absentees- although Haddow has featured for the under 22s recently, the lack of winter business could backfire. Machado is banned for the next game, and Dantas, Rey and Bae are all one booking away. Given Cardoso's evident reliance on key cogs in the system, some more discipline is needed to ensure that players do not miss big games through the silly accumulation of petty yellow cards. Kitchee now have games against Rangers, HKFC and Kowloon City, which when they last played this trio Kitchee won by a combined margin of eighteen goals to one, and given the good performances of the recent weeks, fans will hope for some more dominant performances.

A win against Eastern always goes down well with the fanbase, especially given Eastern's role in extinguishing Kitchee's slim chances of trophies towards the end of the last campaign. Eastern looked shattered with a short turnaround, and Kitchee eased to victory, in stark contrast to recent close encounters- the previous four games between the two were either draws or narrow Eastern wins. Fans were pleased to end Eastern's unbeaten HKPL run of over twenty games. Other fans took the opportunity to spend time with former captain and Kitchee legend Huang Yang, who joined the fans in block 28 for his first in person Kitchee game since bringing his career to a close

What's next
Rangers away at Tsing Yi on the 9th February, a 3pm kick off. We expect Tan Chun-lok and Ruslan Mingazow to remain on the sidelines, and they will be joined by the suspended Luis Machado. Fernando was withdrawn, but perhaps we may see Jay Haddow on the pitch for the first time since November.

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