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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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,

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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.

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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:

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Match highlights

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

Credits to SportsRoad

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

Team news

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

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

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

Match highlights

Credits to SportsRoad

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

Credits to SportsRoad

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

Fan feedback

Credits to SportsRoad

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

Credits to SportsRoad

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

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

What's next 

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

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

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

Match highlights

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

Credits to Kitchee

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

Team news

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

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

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

Credits to Scoop

Match highlights

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

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

Fan feedback

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

Credits to Scoop

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

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

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

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

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

Hong Kong International roundup

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

What's next

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

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Match highlights- on.cc

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

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

Team news

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

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

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

Match highlights

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

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

Fan feedback

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

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

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

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

What's next

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

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Match highlights

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

Credits to Scoop

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

Team news

Credits to Scoop

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

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

Unused subs: Wang, Poon, Buddle, Jason Kam

Match highlights

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

Credits to Scoop

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

Credits to Scoop

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

Fans feedback

Credits to Scoop

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

Credits to Jarly

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

Credits to Jarly

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

Credits to Jarly

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

What's next and other news

Credits to Jarly

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

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Match highlights

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Jarly

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

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

Team news

Credits to Scoop

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

Credits to Issac

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

Unused substitutes: Wang, Lung, Buddle, Jason Kam

Match highlights

Credits to Scoop

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

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

Credits to Tommy

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

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

Fan feedback

Credits to Kitchee

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

Credits to Kitchee

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

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

What's next and other news

Credits to Brandon

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

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Match highlights

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

Team news

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

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

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

Match highlights

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

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

Fan feedback

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

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

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

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

Debut watch

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

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

Photo by Scoop

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

What's next and other news

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

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Written by Adam O'Domhnaill