Sixteen minutes added time, eleven yellow cards and Juninho the difference as Kitchee reach the Senior Shield final again

Article by Adam O'Domhnaill 

Team news

Kitchee made two changes from their midweek exploits in Bangkok, with Roberto coming in at right back and Juninho making his first start in six weeks after an injury. Kim Shin-Wook was left out, despite his two goal contribution in Kitchee's quarter final win last week.

Photo by Eriksson

Paulo; Roberto, Helio (c), Russell, Shinichi; Cleiton, Scott, Mikael; Juninho (Poon 76), Jantscher (Fernando 66), Mingazow (Tan Chun Lok 89)

Match highlights

Early on, Everton went close for Lee Man with a strike from just outside the box. Juninho saw a curling effort saved by the Lee Man keeper after Cleiton had dribbled across the box. Mingazow went close from range, with another good low save denying him. Kitchee were intially awarded a penalty when Jakob Jantscher's free kick hit a man in the wall, but VAR saved Lee Man. Anier came close to giving Lee Man the lead, but blazed his shot over the bar. Kitchee hit Lee Man on the break, with Mikael playing in Mingazow, whose low cross was met by Juninho, marking his return from injury with a first time finish at the far post. In a physical first half, five yellow cards were awarded, and there were nine minutes of stoppage time.

Photo by Jarly

Lee Man began the second half with a free kick from Everton being tipped wide by Paulo. Great pressing by Cleiton played in Mingazow who went close to doubling Kitchee's advantage. Sloppy defending from Kitchee almost allowed Lee Man to equalise, with Anier missing from close range. Another Lee Man set piece saw Paulo again save Kitchee's blushes, with Paulissen the latest to be denied. Mikael came close with an outrageous lobbed effort, as Kitchee couldn't quite press home their advantage. Lee Man got more frustrated as the half went on, with Kitchee opting for the occasional tactical foul. The second half saw a further six yellow cards awarded for a range of offences, with Fernando twice being the victim of uncompromising challenges down the Kitchee left wing. After seven minutes of stoppage time, the game was over. Kitchee had reached the final for the second year in a row, and in a repeat of last year will take on Eastern over Chinese New Year.

Photo by Lok

Fans feedback

Photo by Jarly

Kitchee will be grateful to Paulo for crucial saves throughout the game, keeping the score at 1-0 throughout the whole second half. Both sides missed a host of chances but the game failed to flow with the high number of fouls and cards. This game was revenge for Kitchee for the earlier league thrashing, and presents us with chance of the first silverware of the campaign when we face Eastern in the final.

Despite being cautioned for fouls, Roberto and Cleiton were solid throughout their ninety minutes. Roberto defied his advancing years in shutting down Lee Man's attacks and Cleiton played his best game in weeks, being a effectual part of the Kitchee attack. Shinichi had a mostly solid game against Everton, making amends for the defeat earlier in the season where Everton was on fire. There were some defensive hiccups with Lee Man using pace and power to battle through, but Kitchee held firm. Fernando had another appearance off the bench, getting into the thick of the action, being the victim of a couple of nasty challenges and going close late on.

Photo by Jarly

Tan Chun Lok and Oli Gerbig have hardly featured under Kim Dong-Jin, and we wonder has anything gone on behind the scenes? It was a shame not to see Wookie after decent cameos in his last two games, but Juninho came in and scored the only goal of the game, before going off injured again.

Photo by Jarly

VAR is new to Hong Kong this season. Every check takes nearly five minutes and ruins the momentum. Regardless of poor performance by the officials, far too often players surround the referee for decisions, and in this game there was a lot of that from both sides. More needs to be done to make VAR a more streamlined process, which would mean that players and fans are not kept waiting for decisions, and also mean officials would be less likely to be surrounded by players or abused from the stands.

What's next for Kitchee

Photo by Jarly

Lee Man again. Different ground, different competition. Both sides will be without a host of first team regulars, as the HKFA have yet again scheduled Sapling Cup fixtures during an international break. Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, 3pm Saturday 18th. Hope to see you there.

As always, we are extremely grateful to those who give our their matchday photos. You can find their work here, and in the coming days will upload more photos from the game.

Lok's photos 

Jarly's photos

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