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

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half, Eastern goalkeeper and Hong Kong captain Yapp Hung-fai was removed, and soon afterwards Rey and Fernando were withdrawn for Lung and Welthon, with mixed reports saying one or both may have had injury concerns.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.

Match highlights

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Kitchee break Tai Po curse in monumental away win- Tai Po 1 Kitchee 2

By Adam O'Domhnaill

Summary

Photo by Yin

Kitchee came from behind to win for the first time in the league in over five years, with first half goals from Temirov and Fernando (a penalty deep into stoppage time) cancelled out Tai Po's opener. A goalless second half followed as Kitchee had chances to increase the lead, but also defended resolutely to seal a crucial victory, the first in Tai Po since March 2018.

Team news

Credits to Kitchee

Mingazow joins Tan Chun-lok and Jay Haddow on the sidelines, and Cardoso made three changes to the starting lineup, with Temirov, Juninho and Bae coming in for Welthon, Mingazow and Law, as Kitchee switched to more of a 4-4-2- Juninho played as a second striker, and Fernando played on the left.

Talley; Bae, Leon, Dantas, Jordan; Machado, Ngan, Rey, Fernando (c) (Chen 78); Juninho (Helio 90), Temirov (Welthon 86)

Unused subs: Wang, Law, Lung, Poon, Buddle, Slattery, Yeung, Jason

Match highlights

Credits to Kitchee

On a cold, unpleasant day, Tai Po took the lead early on. After eleven minutes, Michel Renner, Lucas Silva and Lee Ka-ho linked up to set up Renner, who timed his move into the box perfectly to beat Bae to the cross in. Fernando fired straight at Tse Ka-wing, and Machado's long-range sighter drifted aimlessly wide, as some Kitchee fans resigned themselves to another defeat and a definitive end to the title ambitions. Rey played in Fernando down the left, whose cross was met by Temirov at the near post with a lovely header to equalise. Tai Po's goalscoring hero Renner was then forced off through injury, and Marcao headed wide from a corner as Tai Po continued to look good. As stoppage time began, good linkup from Fernando and Jordan down the left set up Juninho, whose shot hit the arm of Weverton. After a lengthy delay, both for the VAR check and for Weverton's treatment (some reports suggest he suffered a bad injury), captain for the day Fernando stepped up and scored past Tse Ka-wing with his first Kitchee penalty in five years, despite the majority of fans assuming it would be Temirov, as the Uzbek forward was our only penalty scorer so far this season. 2-1 up, and Kitchee fans started to dream of what would be a massive victory.

Credits to Kitchee

As the second half rolled on, Machado's break down the right teed up Temirov, who tracked the ball and shielded it from the Tai Po defence, before unleashing a left footed first time strike which went just wide. Lucas Silva blasted one over the bar, and as the game came towards a close Kitchee held firm, negating Tai Po's threat. Fernando was stretchered off after seventy eight minutes, although it does not appear to be too serious, before Jordan Lam hit the bar from a free kick, the full back coming agonisingly close to his first goal for the club. After mammoth shifts up front Temirov and Juninho were replaced by Welthon and Helio, and after ten minutes of stoppage time Kitchee held on for a key win. Could it be the catalyst for a charge towards the title? 

Fans feedback

Credits to Kitchee

An unexpected victory given our past difficulties, but a huge win in the circumstances. Kitchee were due a bit of luck, and will look to push on and challenge for the league title. Every player put in a shift, and while the substitutions came late on, they all did the jobs they were meant to- Chen Ngo-hin and Welthon hustled hard, and Helio came on to help see out the win. Ngan Cheuk-pan in midfield was immense, locking down the threat of Philip Chan, while Temirov up front was an absolute workhorse, scoring a deserved goal and having a couple of good chances. Man of the Match Fernando had a goal and an assist, in what was probably his best game for Kitchee (offensively) for a long long time. The change in formation to a 4-4-2 posed questions to Tai Po's giant Brazilian centre backs, and Kitchee used clever movement to expose them. Talley was largely dominant in coming for crosses, and Leon and Dantas continued to develop their defensive partnership. 

Credits to Kitchee

Kitchee won away at Tai Po for the first time in over two and a half thousand days (March 2018), and came from behind to win a league game for the first time in over five years (November 2019). For Tai Po, it was their first home defeat in over a year. Fernando's goal drew him level with Sandro as Kitchee's joint fourth highest scorer, and baring injury he will bring up 200 appearances for the club this season. While his impact this season has been less than in previous years- given his advancing years it is understandable he has only started five times this season, but he is still capable of delivering top quality performances, as shown here.

What's next

Credits to Kitchee

Derby day again next week, with us playing Eastern on Sunday 2nd at 6pm at Mong Kok Stadium. Win and we can hopefully build up some momentum. Mingazow, Haddow and Lok are all expected to still be missing, but the rumours of a new signing are yet to be confirmed.

Match highlights

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One league win in five as Kitchee drop points again- Eastern 1 Kitchee 1

By Adam O'Domhnaill

Summary

Kitchee dropped points yet again in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Eastern, our fifth in the league this season. While Kitchee took the lead, and were the better team, they could not grab a winner. Luis Machado's second goal in as many games gave Kitchee the lead, before a controversial penalty awarded against Fynn Talley saw Baffoe equalise from the spot before half time. Both sides had chances to win it, with Kitchee arguably the more disappointed, having had the better of the second half.

Team news

Kitchee made five changes from last weeks draw. Talley, Law, Leon, Fernando and Mingazow came into the starting eleven, at the expense of Wang, Chen Ngo-hin, Helio and Temirov who all dropped to the bench, and Bae Jae-woo who came out of the matchday squad. Fernando captained the side on his first start since October, playing in a central midfield role, with Juninho on the bench after his injury sustained on international duty in December.

Talley; Law, Leon, Dantas, Jordan; Ngan, Rey, Fernando (c) (Poon 67), Machado (Juninho 84), Welthon, Mingazow (Temirov 26)

Match events

Felipe Sa and Marcos Gondra went close for Eastern early on, as Kitchee struggled to deal with the onslaught. After fifteen minutes, long ball forward from Jordan Lam played in Mingazow, who escaped the Eastern defence to tee up Machado to score his second goal in as many games. Ten minutes later, Mingazow was involved in a nasty collision, and had to be withdrawn for Temirov (later disclosed by the club to be fractured ribs), and Machado switched to the left wing. Just after the half hour, a long ball forward from Eastern saw Baffoe send an effort goalwards past Talley, with Dantas clearing it off the line. But the referee inexplicably blew for a penalty after a 'foul' by the English goalkeeper, which was duly converted by Baffoe. The first half finished without further incident at 1-1.

Hong Kong centurion Yapp Hung-fai had a very strong start to the second half, denying Temirov and Leon Jones with sublime stops. Jordan Lam's poor clearance and the resultant pinball played in Baffoe, but Talley kept him out, before Yapp got a fingertip on Ngan Cheuk-pan's glanced header. Substitute Poon Pui-hin hit the bar and came agonisingly close with an improvised effort after the ball was cleared. Another good low save from Talley prevented an Eastern cross finding Baffoe, before Anson Wong missed a golden chance to give the hosts the lead. Both sides will feel as though they could have won, but it is Eastern who leave happier, and Kitchee have one win in five league games.

Fan feedback

Yet again more points dropped, and the title is looking more and more unlikely, regardless of what happens next week in Tai Po. There is no presence in midfield; despite the good effort put in by Ngan Cheuk-pan and Aaron Rey, they are often pushed off the ball, and there are rumours of a new player coming in. The attack is toothless; Welthon has looked abysmal in recent weeks, and playing Temirov on the wing has never looked effective, and with Mingazow's injury looking serious fans will hope not to see this again. Machado scored again but was largely invisible, and Poon Pui-hin had a good cameo, going close to scoring. We would like to see a front three of Poon Temirov and Machado next week, with Welthon off the bench. We also saw Law Tsz-chun and Jordan Lam drifting into inverted fullback roles, although neither were particularly effective, and the same could be said for Fernando in attacking midfield.

Kitchee were dominant but with limited cutting edge. Defensively they are looking solid, and Dantas and Leon have a strong partnership, with Dantas being awarded man of the match. Talley's confidence is growing, and the penalty award was harsh, although overall fan view is mixed. Periods of Eastern pressure were nullified by the young Englishman in goal, who is starting to justify the risk taken at the start of the season.

What's next

Tai Po away next Sunday (26th) at 3pm. A huge game, where anything less than a win probably means the end to Kitchee's title challenge. Tickets will likely need to be booked in advance, and we will share the link when available. We will have to do without the services of Mingazow, who joins Tan Chun-lok and Jay Haddow on our injury list.

Match highlights

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Title ambitions hit another bump in the road with draw at Southern- Southern 1 Kitchee 1

By Adam O'Domhnaill

Summary

Kitchee drew for the fourth time in ten HKPL games this season, with Machado's second half equaliser cancelling out Jackson Sousa's opener. Welthon had the chance to win the game with a 97th minute penalty, but Ivan Ng's save meant the points were shared, and Kitchee's run of games without a win in the league after conceding first continued well into a fifth year.

Team news

Kitchee had four players ruled out with injury. Long term absentees Jay Haddow and Tan Chun-lok continued their path to fitness, while Juninho and Fernando were ruled out with minor knocks. Wang Zhenpeng replaced Fynn Talley in goal, and Chen Ngo-hin made his first Kitchee HKPL start, in Kitchee's first game for nearly a month, and first in the league since the end of November. Along with Wang, Machado made his first start since early November, and Ngan Cheuk-pan and Sherzod Temirov returned to the starting lineup. Tuscany, Law, Lung and Slattery dropped to the bench from Kitchee's last game, the 3-0 Sapling Cup defeat to Tai Po.

Lineup: Wang; Bae (Law 46), Helio (c), Dantas, Jordan; Ngan (Poon 73), Rey, Chen (Mingazow 46); Temirov, Welthon, Machado (Lung 85)

Subs: Tuscany, Law, Leon, Mingazow, Lung, Poon, Buddle, Slattery, Jason

Match highlights

Welthon had a header saved from an early corner, before Awal's ball over the top evaded the Kitchee defence to reach Jackson, who opened the scoring after nineteen minutes. Kitchee searched for an equaliser, with Temirov (acrobatically), Welthon and Machado going close, but they went in at half time 1-0 down. Cardoso, often criticised here and elsewhere for a lack of substitutions, made a double change, with Law and Mingazow coming on for Bae and Chen. 

But Kitchee's insistence on playing out from the back almost caused their downfall again, as a poor pass from Dantas allowed Jackson to drive forward, and shoot straight at Wang. Just before the hour mark, a lovely ball from Ngan found Law on the right, and his cross was turned in by Machado to level the scores. Southern substitute Merkies almost latched onto a ball in, and in the process caught Wang with his studs, and the veteran goalkeeper was less than pleased with the youngster. Ivan Ng kept out Temirov's deflected effort, and experienced Southern sub Acosta hit a long range shot, which Wang almost spilled in. Jordan Lam hit the post with his weaker right foot, before chaos ensued in the seven minutes of stoppage time. Good linkup from Law and Lung down the right saw the former's cross hit the hand of a Southern defender, and Kitchee had a lifeline to get three points. Unfortunately Welthon went the same way as goalkeeper Ivan Ng, and both sides went away with a point, but both will feel the three were there for the taking.

Fan Feedback

Kitchee were defensively poor, being regularly caught out being too cute playing the ball out, with the pace of Awal, Merkies and Jackson causing our defence trouble, especially the 'back two' of Helio and Dantas, as the fullbacks pushed on. That being said, Kitchee did get a point from a game where they were not at their best, and Welthon scoring the stoppage time penalty would have been harsh on Southern. Cardoso only made one sub in the cup defeat to Lee Man, and made changes and gambles that almost paid off; at the end Kitchee were in a 4-2-4, with Lung and Rey as the pivots. A lot of Kitchee's ineffectiveness can be partially put down to rust, with the club not having a competitive game in nearly a month. The team did show a good fighting spirit after going 1-0 down, and would have ended a long spell of not coming from behind to win had Welthon scored.

Cardoso made changes, with regular starters Talley, Leon and Mingazow all left out. These did not pay off, with Wang looking far from his best in goal, nearly spilling a shot in, Helio looking slow at the back, and Chen Ngo-hin being swamped in midfield, and ultimately withdrawn at half time. Kitchee lost the ball in midfield often; as has often been the case in Tan Chun-lok's absence, opposition midfields swarm to mark Ngan Cheuk-pan, and Aaron Rey and Chen Ngo-hin were also complacent and struggled under pressure. Kitchee showed shades of last season, with lots of questioning officials and not playing until the whistle, and were fortunate to win the penalty at the death. Southern sat deep for large parts of the game, and Kitchee had no answer for them. Welthon was often marked by two or three defenders, and Temirov out wide works hard but does not offer a threat from crosses.

What's next

Eastern away (18th Jan, 6pm, Mong Kok Stadium stadium) and Tai Po away (26th Jan, 3pm, Tai Po Sports Ground). Two hugely important games, where we will hope to have our injured players back. There is also talk of a new midfielder coming in, probably to fill the gap left by Tan Chun-lok's long-term absence, which seems set to continue. Also in January, some of Hong Kong's young players face off against Guangdong in the Hong Kong-Guangdong Cup, with the second leg at Hong Kong Stadium on the 22nd January. No current Kitchee players feature, but outgoing loanee Sohgo Ichikawa and a few players who spent time in our academy are in the squad.

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Hong Kong are EAFF qualification winners and mixed Sapling Cup performances

Credits to SportsRoad

By Adam O'Domhnaill

Summary

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

By Adam O'Domhnaill

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

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Photos today were by Muudesign, check out their page here

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

By Adam O'Domhnaill

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

By Adam O'Domhnaill

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

By Adam O'Domhnaill

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