Debutants to the rescue as Kitchee battle to hard-fought opening day win- Rangers 2 Kitchee 3

Summary

Kitchee had their debutants to thank for an opening day win, as a brace from Everton helped seal victory against an improved Rangers side. Everton scored a freekick in the first half, but Kitchee could not add a second, and were stunned when Rangers scored two goals either side of the hour mark to take a shock lead. But Kitchee turned it around with Koldo Obieta scoring a penalty after being fouled, and Everton firing in a winner. Kitchee held on to start the season with three points, but leave Inigo Calderon with plenty to think about moving forward.

Line up

Calderon handed out four debutants for the season opener, with last season's player of the year Asier Illarramendi being rested after sustaining a minor injury. Dudu and Marcao started in the back three, with Everton and Koldo Obieta alongside Adrian in the front three. Tuscany and Yu Ching-wai were named on the bench after spending last season on loan in Spain.

Bear; Riera (Haddow 71), Dudu, Marcao; Mingazov, Kanda (Kendy 57), Lok (c) (Shingchun 71), Jordan (Beattie 57); Everton, Adrian (Juninho 83), Obieta

Unused subs: Tuscany, Lung, Jason, Siuhin, Ari, Cheung Yiu-hin, Yu Ching-wai

Match events

Kitchee failed to deal with a long ball forward and Rangers new signing Tiko put the ball in the net, but it was disallowed for offside. Everton opened his Kitchee account with an excellent freekick that left Yip rooted to the spot. Bear made a sharp save to keep out Zazei's header, and he punched away a few dangerous crosses to keep Kitchee ahead at half time.

Just after half time Yip denied Everton from doubling his account, before five minutes of madness left Kitchee stunned. Nathan Lourenco scored a stunning long range effort to equalise after a well-worked corner, and Marcao's missed header allowed Ibrahim to score from close range, although there were some suspicions of offside, and HKFA's budget still does not extend to having VAR at every game this season. Koldo Obieta was hauled down at a corner, and stepped up to score the resulting penalty, with Adrian having had enough of Yip's timewasting, earning himself a yellow card for pushing him over. Li Wing-ho hit the crossbar, before Everton finally scored his second goal. He played Obieta through, and although his cross was cleared, Everton hit in the rebound, before being denied a hat trick by another good save from Yip.

Fan feedback

A lot of Kitchee's build up through midfield was disjointed. At times the wingbacks were far too high, leaving the three centre backs under pressure with limited passing options. This drastically needs to be improved moving forward, but the return of Asier Illarramendi will help with this. Everton was fantastic as expected, becoming the first Kitchee player to score a brace on his debut since Juninho in 2023. Everton has now scored 98 HKPL goals, and going back to last season he has scored four braces in his last five HKPL games. Kitchee were given a much tougher task by Rangers than in previous years; Rangers had only scored one goal in their last six games, and had not scored two league goals against Kitchee since 2012. Their first goal was superb, and Bear had little chance, and the second goal may have been offside. But beyond this Kitchee still had to make a number of last-gasp interventions, and Rangers also hit the bar. The mistakes made in this game need to be eliminated, but a tough test to start the season helpfully helps in the long run with Kitchee avoiding complacency.

Debut watch

Everton scored two goals and was a constant threat. Koldo Obieta showed some nice linkup play and scored a penalty. Both were involved in positive linkup play. Dudu and Marcao struggled a bit in getting the ball forward, although the structure of the midfield meant their options were limited. Dudu made a couple of decisive blocks, and while Marcao could have done better with dealing with the ball in the build up to the second goal he was ok. Still a bit rusty but the same could be said for all players so it would be harsh to single out debutants.

What's next

North District away in Sheung Shui, Saturday 29th at 3pm. We may see a debut for Victor Camarasa, the former Spanish youth international central midfielder who counts Crystal Palace, Cardiff City and Real Betis amongst his former clubs.

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Photo credits: Footballgraphy 

Match highlights

Written by Adam O'Domhnaill

Summer review as league returns this week and Kitchee find out continental opponents

The Hong Kong Premier League is back, as Kitchee seek to defend their title and be competitive in the Asian Champions League 2. Here we'll summarise the ins and outs over the summer and what to look forward to, with Kitchee getting their season underway away at Rangers in Tsing Yi, 6.30pm on 22nd August.

Kitchee's first game in Thailand was against Prime Bangkok of the third tier. Kitchee were dominant, winning 4-0 thanks to first half goals for Everton and Cheng Chin-lung, and a brace for Koldo Obieta off the bench in the second half. This was the first game for Kitchee's four new signings, plus sixteen year old forward Sephrey Ma off the bench.

Kitchee then took on Ratchaburi of Thai League 1, who will compete in the Asian Champions League Elite this season, and reached the quarter finals of last season's ACL2. Kitchee conceded two goals in the first half to succumb to a 2-0 defeat, but were not overawed by a strong team.

Kitchee's final televised friendly saw them take on PT Prachuap, also of Thai League 1, who finished in the top half last season. After going behind, Adrian Revilla equalised before half time in a physical game that saw multiple bench-clearing arguments involving players and staff.

There were lots of positive signs, with Calderon being tactically flexible, often starting with a 3421 or 352 formation but also fielding a 433. The players were able to switch between the two in and out of possession, and the four new signings, two returning loanees and Sephrey Ma promoted from the academy all got regular minutes. 

In the Hong Kong Jockey Club Youth Summit, Kitchee's u18 side beat Manchester United's under 16s on penalties, with Ari Lam scoring early on to give Kitchee the lead. Despite conceding a late equaliser, Kitchee emerged victorious on penalties, with substitute goalkeeper Dylan Parisi Anzolin making two saves. In a monumental week for Hong Kong youth football, the Hong Kong under sixteen side defeated Manchester United on penalties too, with a number of Kitchee players in the squad.

New signings 

Marcos Santos 'Marcao'. The towering centre back stands at nearly two metres tall, and joins us after three years at Tai Po. He made over sixty appearances in green, scoring eight goals, and won the 24/25 HKPL, and the Senior Shield and FA Cup in 25/26, but unfortunately missed out on playing ACL2 football with Tai Po as he was sidelined for nine months with a serious knee injury. 

Everton. Not a lot that needs to be said, as he has played over two hundred and fifty games for five Hong Kong clubs, and scored nearly a hundred and fifty goals. At Lee Man he won the golden boot back in 22/23 (shared with Dejan and Mingazow), the HKPL in 24/25 and has won multiple cup competitions with Yuen Long, Eastern and Lee Man. Since making his Hong Kong debut after naturalising in 2023 he has contributed twelve goals and fifteen assists in twenty six games, and despite turning thirty five in May there is hopefully plenty left in the tank to take us to further glory, and compete in ACL2. Primarily a right winger, in preseason we also saw him deployed as a narrow right forward or a striker in a front two.

Dudu. Another naturalised Brazilian joins us from Lee Man. A two time league winner, Kitchee are his sixth HKPL club, playing nearly two hundred games in the city. An aerial threat from set pieces, he regularly chips in with goals wherever he has played, and brings another experienced player to our defensive line. Dudu has been a regular part of Hong Kong squads since becoming eligible in early 2024, scoring against Guam in the EAFF final. He once captained Neymar in the Santos academy.

Koldo Obieta. The Spanish striker joins us from Indonesian side Borneo FC Samarinda, where he scored nine in sixteen last season. The thirty two year old spent the bulk of his career in the Spanish leagues (with a short spell in Poland), before moving to Kerala Blasters in India in October 2025, and onto Borneo in January 2026. He will relieve some of the scoring pressure on Adrian, and give us another striking option for ACL2.

Departures 

Wang Zhenpeng. The veteran brought his legendary career to a close after nearly four hundred games, after joining the club in 2005. Kitchee's record appearance holder, this is unlikely to be broken anytime soon, as Cheng Chin-lung with just over a hundred and fifty games has the most appearances of the current squad. Won ten league titles and seventeen cups during his time at Kitchee.

Law Tsz-chun. The versatile academy graduate joined Kitchee aged eleven in 2008, and other than one season out on loan, he remained at Kitchee until this summer. He played a hundred and sixty six games (with five goals and sixteen assists), and was part of the leadership group, captaining regularly. He joins newly promoted Sha Tin. Sadly his final season was heavily disrupted by a broken collarbone sustained while playing for the U22s, and he last played in November. He won twelve trophies at Kitchee, including four league titles, and now joins newly promoted Sha Tin..

Matheus Dantas. The Brazilian centre back played forty six games in two seasons and helped us secure the league title last season. Added solidity in defence that had been lacking, and although his performances dropped off towards the end of 2025-26, he was still nominated for the team of the season. Did not miss a single game through injury.

Anson Wong Ho-chun. Joined in January from Qingdao Hainau. With only one start and a total of less than two hundred minutes, he scored three goals and assisted one, including scoring the goal which sealed our 2-0 win over Rangers and the league title. He moves to Southern District.

Martin Merquelanz. Joined in early February and left at the end of the season. Chipped in with two goals (including a stunning final day freekick) and an assist in his seven games. He returns to Spain with Real Union in the third tier.

Leandro Martinez. Left after a single season where his eleven goals and fourteen assists fired Kitchee to league glory. He also returns to Spain, with Recreativo Huelva in the fourth tier.

Seb Buddle. Retired at the age of twenty seven to take up a role as match analyst at the club. The right-sided player made thirty seven appearances (scoring four times) and was part of four league winning squads.

Matthew Slattery. The young striker graduated from the academy in 2023 and made nineteen appearances, winning the league in his final season, albeit only playing once. A talisman for the U22s, he scored twenty four in thirty three for them, winning the FA Cup twice. He moves on to Kowloon City, alongside Chen Ngo-hin who we have loaned there for the season.

Tun Thurain. Left after six months and only playing ninety two minutes over two games. Featured much more prominently for the U22s, scoring four in nine games, including the second goal in the victorious FA Cup final. He joins Yadanarbon FC in the top tier in his homeland of Myanmar. 

This season

Kitchee found out their opponents for the Asian Champions League 2 on Tuesday. We will take on Gangwon FC of Korea, Kuching City of Malaysia and Phnom Penh Crown of Cambodia. We'll do a more in depth preview and analysis of our opponents once the schedule of games is out.

Kitchee have only conceded one goal in their last six games against Rangers, and have not lost to Saturday's opponents since the Sapling Cup final in 2024. See you at Tsing Yi!

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Photo credits: Kitchee

Written by Adam O'Domhnaill

Wang bows out in entertaining 4-4 draw to close out a successful season- Kitchee 4 Eastern 4

Summary

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee took the lead three times but could not secure all three points, as the final game of the HKPL season was an eight goal thriller. Ruslan Mingazow and Yu Okubo both scored two in the first half, along with a strike from Gondra, as Eastern led 3-2 to potentially rain on Kitchee's title parade. Substitute Merquelanz's stunning freekick and Adrian's effort put Kitchee in the lead going into stoppage time, before Okubo struck again. Kitchee had won the league by nine points, despite only earning two in the championship group, and the title was celebrated long into the night, as was Wang Zhenpeng's retirement after over twenty years and nearly 400 games.

Team news

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee made six changes ahead of the final game of the season. Bear, Dantas, Lok, Chan Shing-chun, Merquelanz and Juninho all dropped to the bench, with Wang, Jordan, Illarramendi, Li Siu-hin, Cheung Yiu-hin and Mingazow coming into the starting lineup. Wang captained the side on his final appearance, and to show his longevity Kitchee started three teenagers (all born after his Kitchee debut) and two 22 year olds, who were under two years old at the time. There was a first professional start for Li Siu-hin, and a first in the league for Cheung Yiu-hin.

Wang (c) (Bear 90); Ari (Buddle 71), Jason, Haddow (Dantas 62), Jordan; Kanda (Leandro 62), Illarramendi, Li Siu-hin (Juninho 62); Mingazow, Adrian, Cheung Yiu-hin (Merquelanz 62)

Unused subs: Law, Lung, Anson, Lok, Slattery, Chan Shing-chun

Match highlights

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee were led out by retiring legend Wang, given the captain's armband in his last game. Ari's first time ball through was scored by Mingazow after an Eastern defensive mixup. Initially this was flagged offside, but VAR correctly overruled the officials. Okubo headed in an equaliser to tie Granada for the Golden Boot, but Eastern were only level for a minute before Mingazow headed in a superb cross from youngster Cheung Yiu-hin. Kitchee switched off from an Eastern freekick in their own half, as Lorenz's ball forward was fired in by Gondra, and as halftime approached Okubo cemented himself as outright top scorer with a lovely goal after Kitchee failed to clear. Kitchee 2 Eastern 3 at half time, and while Kitchee had already secured the league weeks ago, fans did not want to finish on a defeat.

Wang made 2 superb saves with his legs to keep the deficit to one. Just after halftime, Kitchee made a quadruple substitution, with Jay Haddow's head injury giving Kitchee another sub to use later. Soon afterwards, Merquelanz scored an incredible free kick to level the game for the third time, and substitute Leandro teed up Adrian to score from the edge of the box, giving Kitchee the lead with ten minutes left. Seven minutes of stoppage time were announced, and in the fourth of these Wang was ceremonially substituted off for Bear to rapturous applause in celebration of a fantastic career. But in the 5th minute of stoppage time Okubo completed a perfect hat trick (header, rightfoot, leftfoot) to end the game 4-4. A cracking game to end the season, and Kitchee were presented with the trophy. A big summer ahead, with Kitchee ending a two year absence from continental competition

Fan feedback

Photo by HKFA

As has been the same for the last few weeks, the league has been wrapped up and a number of fans are not too fussed about results. You can see Calderon rotating and players playing with less intensity, but this is more than justified given the league has been wrapped up for weeks. It was good not to end the season on a defeat, although that is twice in three games that Kitchee have conceded late equalisers. Fans were happy to see young players given a chance, with three teenagers starting in the league for Kitchee for the first time in the Hong Kong Premier League era. Teenagers this season played over 1200 minutes in all competitions, and in the previous two seasons Tuscany Shek vs HKU23 in February 2024 was the only teenager to start a league game. All three played well, and along with Chan Shing-chun (who started the last two games) Kitchee have some bright prospects for the future. 

Other news

Photo by HKFA

Kitchee U22 are through to the final of the U22 FA Cup, after two Slattery goals helped to see off Eastern District (coached by former Kitchee captain Helio). The final will be on the 25th May at 8pm at Kowloon Bay Park against HKFC, and after league wins for the first team, the U18s and the U16s it gives Kitchee another chance at silverware. 

Hong Kong will take on Mongolia at Hong Kong Stadium (5th) and Cambodia away (9th) in the June international window, with Bear, Haddow, Jason Kam, Beattie, Tan Chun-lok, Juninho and Jordan Lam included in the preliminary squad. The HKFC Soccer Sevens is next weekend, with Kitchee's women's and academy sides taking part, as well as some ex Kitchee players, and members of Kitchee's coaching staff are also participating, including Inigo Calderon. 

With the end of the season comes transfer speculation both in and out of the club. Wang Zhenpeng announced on Saturday that he will leave after over twenty years at the club. In his time he played nearly 400 games, and won over thirty trophies, including ten league titles. During his time at Kitchee, he shared the pitch with nearly two hundred teammates (according to transfermarkt), which doesn't include all the other goalkeepers in the squad over the years. Law Tsz-chun will join ambitious promoted club Supreme, coached by Kitchee legend Lo Kwan Yee. Dantas will also leave after two seasons.

Photo by HKFA

Lee Man and Hong Kong duo Everton Camargo and Dudu are on their way to the club, with more signings presumably being confirmed over the coming months. We'll continue to keep fans in the loop of incomings and outgoings, with Kitchee typically announcing a released list towards the end of May. Chairman Ken Ng shut down the rumours of Edinson Cavani signing, although given he's still under contract with Boca Juniors, it was a very unlikely rumour to begin with.

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Match highlights

Kitchee stagger towards the end of the season- North District 2 Kitchee 2 and Tai Po 3 Kitchee 0

Match summaries

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee continued their post-champions slump by giving up a 2-0 lead to North District and losing 3-0 to Tai Po. Against North District, first half penalties from Leandro and Junior were pegged back by a penalty from top scorer Samuel Granada and a stoppage timelong shot from Law Hiu-chung. A week later Kitchee returned to Tai Po, and were defeated 3-0 by the usual tenants; an early first half brace from Patrick Valverde and a free kick from Kitchee legend Fernando condemned Kitchee to their first game without a goal since the penultimate game of last season, and Kitchee's three game winless run is the longest since January 2025, albeit with the league wrapped up weeks ago fans are not too disheartened.

North District 2 Kitchee 2

Team news

Photo by Scoop

Roger Riera and Asier Illarramendi were out injured, with Jay Haddow, Kendy and Tan Chun-lok all suspended for yellow card accumulation. Ruslan Mingazow and Callum Beattie both came onto the bench, along with seventeen year old Poon Wing-kei. Juninho captained the side from the start for the first time, having taken the armband at half time the week before. Tun Thurain made his league debut off the bench.

Bear; Ari, Dantas, Jason, Jordan (Beattie 89); Kanda (Thurain 72), Chan Shing-chun (Li Siu-hin 72), Leandro (Mingazow 82); Merquelanz, Adrian, Juninho (c) (Anson 72)

Unused subs: Wang, Law, Lung, Buddle, Slattery, Liang Kui-chung, Poon Wing-kei

Match events

Photo by Scoop

Leandro went close early on, before Dantas was outmuscled by Granada, who fired wide. Granada missed another good chance, before Paez hit a long range freekick wide. Kitchee grew into the game in the closing stages of the half, with Leandro scoring a penalty after being fouled, and captain for the day Juninho doing the same moments later. In between, youngster Chan Shing-chun went close from outside the box.

Just after half time Arboleda was taken out by Bear, and Granada converted the penalty, before Adrian hit the bar with a header. North District continued to push; Weverton forced two good saves from Bear, while Granada missed a sitter and had two goals ruled out for offside. In stoppage time good holdup play by Granada (with some shouts for handball) saw the ball make its way out to Law Hiu-chung, whose shot found the net and gave North District a point.

Fan feedback

Photo by Scoop

Kitchee had a number of absentees, and started two teenagers in a league game for the first time since May 2019. It was a better performance than the week before, but yet again Kitchee were not clinical enough, with Adrian's header the only chance of note in the second half. There was a bit of a disconnect between defence and attack, although with the caveat of midfield duo Tan Chun-lok and Asier Illarramendi missing- the first game without either starting since September. There were a lot of minutes for fringe players, with Anson Wong, Li Siu-hin and league debutant Tun Thurain getting around twenty minutes off the bench.

Tai Po 3 Kitchee 0

Jordan Lam and Ruslan Mingazow were both suspended, with Roger Riera and Asier Illarramendi still injured, who were joined on the injury list by Kendy and Thurain Tun. Jay Haddow and Tan Chun-lok returned from suspension to start. Chan Shing-chun earned a second successive start.

Bear; Dantas, Jason, Haddow; Ari (Beattie 63), Lok (c), Chan Shing-chun (Li Siu-hin 63), Merquelanz (Anson 63); Kanda (Lung 63), Juninho (Leandro 63); Adrian

Unused subs: Wang, Law, Enikar, Buddle, Slattery, Poon Wing-kei

Match events

Photo by David

Valverde scored a nice first time shot from the edge of the box in the third minute, after good work down the left by Igor, with Kitchee failing to track him. He doubled the lead ten minutes later, evading Kitchee's defence to head in Fernando's cross. Juninho and Tan Chun-lok went close, before Bear saved a cross with his legs. Adrian Revilla blasted over from close range as Kitchee went in 2-0 down at half time.

Kanda picked Fernando's pocket, but his shot was blocked. Ari's great cross was headed wide by Juninho as Kitchee sought a way back. Bear saved from Philip Chan, before Fernando scored a freekick from out wide that bounced low; in between these two incidents Kitchee made a rare quintuple substitution. Adrian scuffed a shot sideways, and Kitchee fell to a 3-0 defeat.

Fan feedback

Photo by David

Fans aren't too bothered with another defeat, as players achieved the main goal of winning the title, and with absences and rotations different combinations are being tested. But some of the attack is far too static and Kitchee had very limited chances. The quintuple substitution gave nearly half an hour to fringe players, but still Law Tsz-chun and Matthew Slattery did not feature. Conceding two goals early put Kitchee on the back foot, and they never really looked like getting back into the game. Adrian Revilla is looking shattered up front, and still spends far too much time outside of the box. Anson Wong and Li Siu-hin added some energy, but Kitchee succumbed to a heavy defeat without much attacking threat.

What's next

Photo by David

One game left. We take on Eastern on the 17th May at 6pm at Tseung Kwan O to wrap up a league-winning season. The players will be presented with the trophy at this game, so get yourselves down to celebrate.

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North District highlights

Tai Po highlights

Invincible season dreams crushed as Kitchee blown away- Kitchee 1 Lee Man 4

Match summary

Kitchee lost in the league for the first time this season as a destructive first half from Lee Man saw Kitchee trail 3-0 after nineteen minutes. Kitchee improved somewhat as the game went on but eventually succombed to a 4-1 defeat, with Martin Merquelanz scoring his first Kitchee goal. This marked Kitchee's worst defeat at Mong Kok Stadium for over fifteen years.

Team news

Callum Beattie and Roger Riera were out injured, with Ruslan Mingazow rested. Adrian Revilla, Jay Haddow, Kendy and Ari Lam came into the starting line up, with Haddow lining up on the left of a back three.

Bear; Dantas, Jason, Haddow (Jordan 24); Ari (Buddle 75), Lok (c) (Juninho 46), Illarramendi, Merquelanz; Kendy (Chan Shing-chun 75); Adrian, Leandro (Kanda 57)

Unused subs: Wang, Law, Lung, Anson, Slattery, Li Siu-hin

Match events

Everton gave Lee Man the lead after 6 minutes, with Dantas beaten for pace by Baffoe just like in the League Cup final to set up Everton. Just over ten minutes later, sloppy play from Leandro in midfield saw the ball turned over, and a long ball forward from Gaucho found Baffoe who doubled the lead. Less than two minutes after this, Dantas could not complete a pass to Ari Lam, and Tachibana intercepted and played in Baffoe, whose pace destroyed Dantas and Baffoe found Everton free in the box to make it 3-0 before the 20th minute. The cautioned Jay Haddow was then sacrificed, with Jordan Lam coming on and Kitchee reverting to a back four. Just after the half hour mark Kitchee earned a slightly fortunate penalty, with Leandro pulled down by Wu Chun-ming. This penalty was converted by Martin Merquelanz, for his first Kitchee goal to pull one back. But Lee Man's dominance continued, with Everton and Gigauri both going close as Kitchee were all over the place.

Captain Tan Chun-lok, who was also booked in the first half, was withdrawn at half time, with Juninho replacing him. He added some energy to Kitchee's attack, almost scoring within a couple of minutes of coming on. Adrian couldn't quite divert a header in, and Dudu cleared inside the six yard box, as Kitchee looked more likely to score. But in the closing stages Merquelanz gave away a silly freekick for handball, not realising the ball was still live, and Dudu headed in. Juninho had one last effort to score, as he headed wide.

Fan feedback

Fans were largely disappointed to lose the prospect of going invincible, although with the league already confirmed none were overly upset. It was natural that the side were going to reduce the intensity, and Calderon did give minutes to fringe players at the end. But the mistakes of the League Cup were repeated here, with Dantas proving far too slow, and the back three being outplayed by the pace and power of Everton and Noah Baffoe. As we said in our report following the League Cup, this needs addressing in the summer. Even with Jason Kam's pace returning to the backline, there were still issues. Although as Calderon said post-match, this team are champions for a reason.

Yet again Lee Man's decision to go for three centre backs challenged Kitchee, as a team so reliant on crossing this season struggled to get much going. The penalty was fortunate, and a lot of Kitchee's time on the ball was not in attacking areas. Kitchee also picked up six yellow cards to Lee Man's one, although some of the decisions left a fair bit to be desired. That being said, it would be lazy to blame the officiating for Kitchee's defeat. With the invincible season out of reach maybe we see more fringe players used- Saturday saw Chan Shing-chun and Seb Buddle both have decent cameos as the game was already lost.

What's next

North District next Saturday, 3pm in Tai Po. The Championship group seems to have been designed with no clear structure, with teams having a random assortment of home, away and neutral fixtures- after this Kitchee play Tai Po in Tai Po and then Eastern at TKO. We anticipate Riera and Beattie to remain out, probably until the end of the season, and we believe Kitchee have a few players suspended for yellow card accumulation, but will wait for confirmation. Hopefully the boys can bounce back with a win.

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Highlights

Kitchee seal their thirteenth league title with thirteenth league win in a row- Kitchee 2 Rangers 0

Match summary

On the 12th April 2025, Kitchee fans left Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground after witnessing Kitchee get taken apart by Lee Man, with it being confirmed that coach Edgar Cardoso would leave at the end of the season. Exactly a year on, Kitchee celebrated winning their thirteenth league title, as goals from Leandro Martinez and Anson Wong secured victory, when a draw would have been enough. At one point on Sunday Kitchee could have won the title before even kicking off as North District led Lee Man 2-1 after 92 minutes, but a wild stoppage time period saw the game finish 3-3. Kitchee wrap up the league with four games to spare.

Team news

Callum Beattie was out injured, and along with Enikar, Thurain, Adrian and Kendy dropped out of the matchday squad. Bear, Jason, Tan Chun-lok, Merquelanz and Cheng Chin-lung came into the starting line up, with Kanda dropping to the bench.

Bear; Riera (Haddow 13), Jason, Dantas; Mingazow, Lok (c), Illarramendi, Lung, (Kanda 57), Merquelanz (Jordan 72); Juninho (Anson 72), Leandro

Unused subs: Wang, Law, Buddle, Slattery, Chan Shing-chun, Li Siu-hin

Match events

Early Kitchee pressure saw the ball get crossed in from both sides in one phase of play, but no one could get a clear contact on the ball. Jason headed over after a free kick was not cleared properly, before Ibrahim hit an acrobatic effort wide. As the first half wound to a close, Dantas pushed forward, and pinged the ball out to Mingazow on the right, who crossed the ball in for Leandro to score his tenth goal in all competitions, and his seventh since the start of March. Juninho went close to doubling the lead, but saw his effort tipped wide.

Juninho went close early in the second half, before Leandro shanked the rebound horribly wide. Ibrahim headed wide as Rangers had scarce opportunities to come back into it. With the game meandering towards a dull ending, fans in the crowd spent most of the second half celebrating Kitchee's impending league win. The win was wrapped up in stoppage time, as Illarramendi and Leandro Martinez helped tee up Anson Wong for his third Kitchee goal. An extremely dull game, but Kitchee got the result needed to seal the league title.

Fan feedback

It was good to wrap the league up, with Lee Man's three draws in a row making the championship group redundant (as is the relegation group with HKFC so far adrift). It will be interesting to see how Kitchee use the final four games- could it be an opportunity to test out some younger players, or will the management be targeting an invincible season. There are some issues that will need addressing for the Asian Champions League 2 campaign next season, where there is the added layer of no foreign player restrictions (although there are rumours that the rule may change in Hong Kong too to make HKPL clubs more competitive. The two most pressing are the lack of pace at the back (when Jason is not playing) and Kitchee's inability to get shots away- too often Kitchee pass the ball around the edge of the box, and in the ACL2 time on the ball will be much more limited and Kitchee will need to be more efficient.

Riera's injury looks season-ending, and with Beattie also out it meant Jay Haddow played eighty minutes at right centre back. There is some concern that there might not be any senior centre back cover for the remainder of the season, subject to Beattie's recovery. Depth in this position has got to be a priority for the summer, especially with a three at the back formation.

It's safe to say the past two seasons were incredibly bleak by Kitchee's standards. A number of players came in and flopped, and such is the extent of the turnover that only five players remain from Kitchee's triumph in 2022/23- Wang won his 10th league title of his career this season, with Cheng Chin-lung (6) and Law Tsz-chun (5) also adding another to impressive collections. Ruslan Mingazow and Jason Kam both won their second HKPL title, after winning three years ago.

What's next

Four dead rubbers really for Kitchee up next, with attendances likely low and the only thing of note to play for is an invincible season. North District and Tai Po will probably rest starters to avoid injury prior to the FA Cup semi finals. The scheduling is not officially finalised but at the moment Kitchee's next game is against Lee Man at 6pm on the 18th April.

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Highlights

Cup final defeat as Kitchee count the cost of poor finishing- Kitchee 1 Lee Man 2

Match summary

Kitchee will end the season with just the league title (unless there is a meltdown of epic proportions) after defeat in the League Cup Final to Lee Man. In true Hong Kong public holiday tradition, nearly 4000 people were in attendance. A tetchy game saw Lee Man score twice early in the second half through counter attacks for Everton and Noah Baffoe, and despite Illarramendi pulling one back (which may be recorded as an own goal) Kitchee could not come from behind.

Team news

Kitchee made three changes from the derby victory over Eastern. League Cup goalkeeper Enikar came in for Bear, while Adrian and Kanda came in for Tan Chun-lok and Cheng Chin-lung. Jay Haddow and Martin Merquelanz both came off the bench after month long injuries. Bear was left out, and Jason Kam and Tan Chun-lok were fatigued after international duty (according to Calderon's post match comments) so both were unused subs.

Enikar; Riera, Dantas, Beattie (Jordan 60); Illarramendi, Mingazow (c), Kanda (Haddow 60), Kendy (Lung 86), Juninho (Merquelanz 60); Leandro, Adrian

Unused subs: Wang, Anson, Lok, Thurain, Jason, Chan Shing-chun, Li Siu-hin, Ari

Match events

Illarramendi had an acrobatic volley blocked, before Beattie's low cross/shot couldn't be turned in and dragged wide. Everton broke from halfway and saw his shot deflect through to Enikar for Lee Man's first chance of note. A quick throw from Everton caught Kitchee unaware (with Riera lying off the pitch after a coming together with Everton; Dantas' attempted clearance was caught by Enikar, leading to an indirect freekick being awarded. Mikael laid it off to Gaucho, and Kitchee blocked it, before Juninho headed clear. Enikar saved Mikael's header, before a dangerous cross from Mingazow was tipped over with no Kitchee player able to get on the end of it.

Less than 5 mins into second half, Gaucho's long ball was not dealt with by Beattie, and it was too easy for Everton to score. Kendy missed a sitter to equalise, which would prove crucial in the context of the game. Just before the hour, Mikael cleverly evaded Illarramendi in midfield, and played a lovely ball through to Noah Baffoe, who ran between Kitchee's centre backs and although he didn't hit the ball cleanly, it still found the back of the net. This goal forced a Kitchee triple sub, with Beattie, Juninho and Kanda being withdrawn with Merquelanz, Haddow and Jordan coming on- the latter pair coming on as fullbacks as Kitchee switched to a back four. Almost immediately Merquelanzs freekick was headed in by Illarramendi (it did take a touch off Mikael but seems to have been awarded to Kitchee's talisman). Kitchee pushed for an equaliser, with Leandro's cross being cleared, before Enikar saved smartly from Everton. Mikaels quick free kick saw Everton 1 on 1 with Enikar, he couldn't convert and Riera recovered well. Some fans were unhappy the freekick was taken with the referee not looking at the play when it was taken. Haddow and Illarramendi went close late on, but Kitchee could not equalise and will rue their chances. But the players will surely get over this at the weekend with the league hopefully being wrapped up on Sunday.

Fan feedback

Some fans are understandably disappointed, as Kitchee will end the season with only one trophy, likely to be confirmed on Sunday. The attack looked incredibly pedestrian with a lot of sideways and backwards passes, and the back three was caught out for both goals. Lee Man set out with a fairly defensive 3-4-3, and shut down Kitchee's attacks. Adrian was outside of the box swinging crosses in too often, while Illarramendi was the only man looking to progress the ball. Starting so many attacking players meant that when Kitchee needed a goal, there was only the rusty Martin Merquelanz, the seemingly out of favour Anson Wong and young striker Matthew Slattery. The latter two remained unused, and have hardly featured this campaign (with the caveat that Anson only arrived in January). There was a sense of complacency amongst Kitchee's players, and the performance of some players and the balance of a foreigner heavy side gives the club things to think about before the projected ACL2 campaign next year. That being said, Kitchee have been very strong for a lot of the season, and are still undefeated in the league, so it is important not to overreact to a rare defeat. 

International roundup

Hong Kong lost 2-1 in India last week. Tan Chun-lok earned his 60th cap for Hong Kong, captaining the side for the first time. Bear made his debut in goal, while Jason also debuted with half an hour off the bench. Jordan Lam was unused. Kitchee have eight players currently playing in the Premier League NextGen Beijing Cup for Hong Kong U16s, where they lost 2-0 to English side Wolves but beat Shanghai Shenhua 3-0.

What's next

The final league game of the regular season is against Rangers on the 12th April, at 6pm. Kitchee will be looking to wrap up the league before the Championship Group stage,  after Lee Man were held to goalless draws by Kowloon City and Eastern District. By the time the Rangers game rolls around, Kitchee will know exactly what is required. Regardless of Lee Man's result away at North District in the 3pm kickoff, a win for Kitchee secures the league. Kitchee's superiority on head to head record (the first tiebreaker) means that a Lee Man draw means a draw for Kitchee is enough, and were Lee Man to lose, Kitchee would secure the title before kick off.

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Match highlights

Post-match reaction from HK Kickers (featuring both managers and ourselves)

Kitchee come from behind as super sub Adrian secures derby victory- Kitchee 2 Eastern 1

Match summary

Kitchee ground out a hard-fought win over rivals Eastern to claim bragging rights and take a big step towards winning the league. A defensive mix up allowed Okubo to give Eastern an early lead, and Kitchee ended a first half behind for the first time this season. Calderon made the bold choice of substituting the booked pair of Tan Chun-lok and Dantas for Jason Kam and Adrian Revilla at half time. Adrian proved the difference maker; after setting up Leandro's equaliser with an exquisite pass, he got on the end of Illarramendi's long ball to score a late winner. After the trauma of the 2023-24 season, where Kitchee lost twice to Eastern in two weeks, Kitchee have now extended the unbeaten run over Eastern to six games.

Team news

Kitchee made five changes from the semi final victory midweek. League regulars Bear, Beattie, Illarramendi and Juninho came back in, with Cheng Chin-lung making a second consecutive league start. Leandro Martinez continued as centre forward after his good run of form. Jason Kam and Jordan Lam dropped to the bench, with Yumemi Kanda rested and Enikar and Tun Thurain also being left out in order to stick to foreign player limits. Chan Shing-chun came on for his first senior gametime since the end of November, and was in his first matchday squad since the end of January.

Bear; Riera, Dantas (Jason 46), Beattie; Mingazow, Lok (c) (Adrian 46), Illarramendi, Juninho (Jordan 90); Lung (Ari 75), Kendy, Leandro (Chan Shing-chun 90)

Unused subs: Wang, Anson, Buddle, Slattery, Li Siu-hin

Match events

Illarramendi and Lok went close in the opening exchanges. After good work down the left from Kitchee, Eastern keeper Cassaro claimed the ball off Lok's toe, with Lok catching him in the follow through. This drew blood on Cassaro's head and an angry reaction, with a yellow card for Lok and lengthy stoppage following. Gondra evaded Kitchee's defensive line, and when Dantas and Bear miscommunicated he poked it through and Okubo tapped it in despite the valiant efforts of Beattie. The dangerous Okubo then scored from Gondra's freekick, but he was offside. Eastern right back Callum Hall then went close from long range, and Kitchee went into halftime behind for the first time this season.

Calderon made a double sub and adjusted the team, which would prove to pay off massively. Mingazow went close after a great through ball from Lung, while Kendy also went close after good work on the right. Just after the hour, Adrian played an exquisite lofted through ball to Leandro, and the latter chipped the keeper with a first time finish. Kitchee pushed for a winner, and found one after seventy eight minutes. Illarramendi dispossed Lam Hin-ting in midfield, and played a lovely ball through to Adrian; the Spanish striker took a touch then scored with a composed finish. Eastern pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Kitchee held firm through substantial stoppage time.

Fan feedback

The first half saw Kitchee struggle, receiving three yellow cards, conceding a sloppy goal, and struggling to get anything going. A three game week is always going to cause a bit of fatigue, and despite rotations for each game, Kitchee were poor in the first half. Calderon made the bold move of swapping out the booked duo of captain Tan Chun-lok and Dantas, bringing on Jason Kam and Adrian Revilla. Jason was a straight swap for Dantas, but Adrian's introduction required some tactical adjustments- Lung dropped into a deeper midfield role, with Leandro dropping into the attacking midfield position. The second half was much better, with Kitchee exploiting Eastern's stupidly high line twice. Adrian has looked tired in recent weeks and allowing him to play a couple of games coming off the bench meant he looked like a new man at the weekend. Leandro's form recently has been superb, with six goals in his last five games, while Illarramendi continues to show his class, dictating the pace of the game. Winning ugly is a sign of champions and while it is not wrapped up yet, Kitchee showed they can get the job done.

What's next

Hong Kong were scheduled to play on both the 26th (8.15pm) and the 31st (9.30pm), with both games supposedly on TV as per HKFA's promise, but the details of these are not totally confirmed. Since the initial publication, the friendly with Nepal has been cancelled due to political uncertainty in the country. Tan Chun-lok, Jordan Lam, and Bear made the final squad, with Jason Kam earning a well-deserved callup after Vas Nunez dropped out injured. Assistant manager Fernando Recio will also be with the Hong Kong squad again.

Kitchee then have a break until the League Cup final against Lee Man, which will take place on the 7th April at Mong Kok Stadium, after some debate about whether it could be held at Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground. The final league game of the regular season is against Rangers on the 12th April, at 6pm. Kitchee are currently five points away from sealing the league win, after Lee Man were held to a goalless draw by Kowloon City. By the time the Rangers game rolls around, Kitchee will know exactly what is required. If Lee Man fail to win both games they play (trips to Eastern District and North District) before we take on Rangers, we can win the league in our final game of the regular season. 

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Match highlights

Leandro's penalty sees Kitchee reach first final in two years- Kitchee 1 Kowloon City 0

Match summary

On a Wednesday night in Mong Kok, Kitchee overcame a stubborn Kowloon City to advance to theLeague Cup final. Leandro's retaken penalty in the first half gave Kitchee the lead, and proved to be the only goal of the game. Both sides had chances, with Leandro also having a goal ruled out for offside. The game ended somewhat controversially, with Kowloon City having penalty claims turned down in stoppage time.

Team news

Kitchee made a number of changes from Saturday's league game against the same opposition. Enikar, Dantas, Ari, Lok, Kanda and Jordan came in, while there was also a debut for Myanmar youth international Tun Thurain. Bear was rested, while Beattie, Mingazow, Illarramendi, Lung, Juninho and Adrian dropped to the bench. Matthew Slattery returned to a senior matchday squad for the first time since mid-December after an ankle injury. According to transfermarkt, Cheng Chin-lung's appearance off the bench was his 150th for Kitchee, a great achievement for the academy graduate.

Enikar; Riera, Jason (Beattie 74), Dantas; Ari (Mingazow 81), Lok (c), Kanda, Jordan; Thurain (Juninho 70), Kendy (Lung 70); Leandro (Adrian 70)

Unused subs: Wang, Illarramendi, Anson, Buddle, Slattery, Li Siu-hin, Liang Kui-chung

Match events

The game had a scrappy start- both sides had chances, Kitchee the better team. Just after half hour mark, Ari Lam played in Leandro, who was taken out in the box. His first penalty saved, but the keeper was off his line; Leandro duly scored the retake. Enikar made some great saves to Kitchee in the lead either side of half time. Early in the second half Jordan Lam went on a run from the left hand side and saw his effort saved. In the second half Kowloon City posed many threats against Kitchee's high line, but Kitchee arguably should have extended the lead. First, Leandro missed a sitter after a good cross from the left, and he later scored an offside goal, tapping in the rebound after Yumemi Kanda's strike from distance was saved. Substitutes Adrian and Mingazow combined with the latter denied. Kowloon City kept pushing, and they were extremely aggrieved not to have a late penalty. But Kitchee held on and advance to the final.

Fan feedback

Ari Lam became the first teenager to pass 400 minutes in a season for Kitchee since Tuscany Shek, Jason Yuen and Matthew Slattery all did so in 23/24, albeit aided by the never ending Sapling Cup and the requirement for young players to play more in that competition. We saw Kanda used in a deeper role where he saw more of the ball; he went close with what would have been a superb goal before an offside Leandro poked in the rebound and ultimately it was disallowed.

Enikar made some good saves, the defence looked a bit cagey, and the attack was a bit pedestrian at times. Kowloon City were a lot more physical than in the league game on Saturday which did take Kitchee some time to deal with. Kitchee have kept 10 clean sheets in 20 games this season.

Key players were rested- Bear was not in squad, Illarramendi was an unused substitute, while key attacking players had short cameos off the bench. Kitchee will be eyeing up a trophy and then continue the momentum to hopefully sealing the league trophy.

What's next

Kitchee go back to TKO on Saturday to take on Eastern in the derby (albeit the two sides no longer share a stadium). 3pm kick off. Hong Kong play on both the 26th and the 31st, although no final squad has been released yet. Kitchee then have a break from domestic action until the League Cup final against Lee Man, which while originally scheduled for the 6th April at Mong Kok Stadium, rumours have circulated that it could be played on the 7th April at Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground. As always, this decision will likely be left until the last minute.

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Match highlights

Four goals, three points and the winning run continues- Kitchee 4 Kowloon City 0

Match summary

Kitchee extended the winning run in the league to eleven games with a straightforward victory overKowloon City. On Saturday at TKO, first half goals from Leandro and Kendy made Kitchee comfortable, before Leandro again and a goal from substitute Yumemi Kanda completed the win, as Kitchee bounced back from penalty heartbreak last week.

Team news

Law Tsz-chun and Matthew Slattery remained side-lined long term, with Martin Merquelanz missing for the second game in a row. They were joined on the injury list by Jay Haddow, but Roger Riera returned to the starting line up for the first time since mid January as part of three changes. Kendy and Cheng Chin-lung started, with Tan Chun-lok and Yumemi Kanda dropping to the bench, and Dantas being left out of the squad. Seventeen year old centre back Liang Kui-chang made his first matchday squad.

Bear; Riera, Jason, Beattie; Mingazow (c) (Ari 70), Lung (Lok 74), Illarramendi (Li Siu-hin 81), Juninho (Jordan 74); Kendy, Leandro; Adrian (Kanda 70)

Unused subs: Wang, Anson, Buddle, Liang Kui-chung

Match events

Lung, closing in on 150 Kitchee appearances, had a shot from the edge of the box which was tipped over. Kendy beat the Kowloon City defence to get on the end of Illarramendi's  long ball, and teed up Leandro for a simple finish. Diego Eli hit a freekick straight at Bear, before Mingazow went close with an ambitious long range effort. Bear easily dealt with the few tame efforts Kowloon City managed. Kendy's free kick deflected off the bottom of the wall into the path of Leandro who scored, but was judged to have been offside. After half an hour, Illarramendi played in Mingazow down the right; his cross missed everyone in the middle but Kendy scored a nice right footed effort from the left hand side. Not a lot else happened in the first half, although Kowloon City midfielder Habib was very fortunate not to receive a second yellow card.

Early in the second half Mingazow picked up another assist as Leandro doubled his tally at the near post, and he almost had a hat trick but his shot was deflected wide. A momentary lapse in concentration from Kitchee gave Luzinho to hit a tame effort that Bear easily dealt with. Substitute Li Siu-hin injected some energy, and almost had his first professional assist, as Kendy attempted to flick in his cross from the right, but the goalkeeper made a smart reaction save. Kanda and Leandro played a smart one-two, with Kanda scoring with a low shot to make it 4-0. Li siu-hin was denied his first Kitchee goal in stoppage time as the keeper tipped it over.

Fan feedback

Another win and a clean sheet, and fans a lot happier after last week's cup exit. Kitchee were rarely troubled defensively and also did not need to play at full intensity. Memories of last season's embarrassing collapse did have a few fans wary at half time, but Leandro's second goal early in the second half put those fears to bed. Kitchee have now kept nine clean sheets in nineteen games, including three in five at TKO, and that is despite some chopping and changing in the backline at the start of 2026, with Dantas and Riera serving bans, and Riera later being injured. The attack looked good and Kitchee could definitely have scored more, with Cheung Kwai-wa (who was at Kitchee from the age of ten to eighteen) making a number of good saves. Saturday was the fifth time in eight games post-Christmas that Kitchee scored three or more goals, and the tenth time in nineteen games all season. 

Kitchee were comfortable and were able to take Adrian and Mingazow off with twenty minutes left, with Juninho and Illarramendi also not playing a full ninety. Hopefully this keeps them rested for the two games Kitchee have this week. Starting Tan Chun-lok and Yumemi Kanda on the bench meant they are well-rested ahead of this week's games. Cheng Chin-lung was productive in a rare start, going close early on and helping progress the ball down the right hand side for Kitchee's third goal. Illarramendi was dominant, playing the 'pre-assist' for both of Kitchee's first half goals with excellent passes. Li Siu-hin could have had a goal and an assist off the bench in an energetic cameo but for excellent goalkeeping, and Ari Lam also looked solid after playing in the schools final earlier in the day (he later played for Kitchee's under 22s on Sunday too). 

What's next

Kitchee play Kowloon City in the League Cup midweek at Mong Kok (18th March at 8pm) before finishing off the week at TKO against Eastern in the league (21st March at 3pm). Hong Kong are playing two away games at the end of the month; a friendly with Nepal (26th March 8.15pm HKT) and the dead rubber Asian Cup qualifier with India (31st March 9.30pm HKT). We expect a final squad to be announced at some point this week, to see how many of our five players in the preliminary squad make the final cut, although with Jay Haddow's recent injury the most this will be is four (unless Beattie's international clearance is sorted out). Li Siu-hin, Liang Kui-chung and seventeen year old Sin Wai-kiu were all called up to Hong Kong's under 20 squad for a training camp in Thailand.

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Match highlights