Diabolical derby defeat ends title ambitions

By Adam O'Domhnaill

HKU23 0-6 Kitchee

Kitchee ended April with a trip to Hammer Hill, postponed following September's bad weather, achieving a comfortable away win on a substandard pitch, against an opponent that may not be around next season. Kitchee heavily rotated, with only Igor Sartori and Juninho keeping their places from the Tai Po draw. Cleiton and Roberto were suspended. Paulo and Fernando made their first appearances since February, and Mingazow returned to the bench for his first game since getting injured on international duty. A first half hat trick from Mikael and a goal for Juninho saw Kitchee lead 4-0 at half time. Second half goals from substitutes Temirov and Shinichi sealed the win, either side of Mingazow coming off injured again, having previously come on for the injured Poon. The Turkmen winger has now been ruled out for the season. After the quadruple substitution at half time, there were no subs remaining, so Kitchee saw out the win with ten men.

Lineup vs HKU23 Paulo; Kurban, Russell (Helio 46), Ramic, Fernando (Shinichi 46); Huang (c), Lung, Mikael (Lok 46); Poon (Mingazow 65), Juninho (Temirov 46), Igor

Now for derby day. After the routine win at Hammer Hill, Kitchee's regulars returned to the side, with seven changes made. Mingazow was injured, but Poon was fit enough for the bench as Kitchee looked to extend their unbeaten run against Eastern, who came into the game in good form.

Lineup vs Eastern Paulo; Law, Helio (c), Russell, Shinichi (Fernando 54); Scott (Lok 54), Cleiton (Lung 83), Mikael; Temirov, Juninho, Jantscher (Igor 87)

Photo by Erikson

Eastern had the better of the early exchanges, with Noah Baffoe again causing Kitchee's defence problems, and he headed narrowly wide, before Marcus Gondra also went close. The fans of both sides were next to each other throughout, so there was inevitable disagreements alongside passionate chanting. Kozubaev gave Eastern the lead, heading in Jesse Yu's corner midway through the half, and the hosts had chances to extend their advantage, before on the cusp of half time Temirov headed in Jantscher's cross and Kitchee were undeservedly level. Both sides had chances in the second half, before another wasted Kitchee corner was cleared by Eastern, and from the resulting counter-attack Eastern had a four on two and Baffoe scored, drawing him level with Mikael at the top of the HKPL scoring charts. Kitchee had a few chances to equalise, notably Fernando in the last minute but Eastern held firm for their first win over Kitchee since February 2021, and the first in the league since September 2020. Title dreams over, now onto the cups.

Fan feedback

Photo by Erikson

Simply not good enough. From September to April Kitchee's fixture list allowed very obvious cracks to be papered over, and now the wheels have fallen off the title chase in recent weeks. Kitchee's recruitment (or lack thereof) means that Russell and Helio, both over thirty-five and not blessed with pace were matched up against Noah Baffoe, who caused Kitchee problems for the third time this season. Offensively we were also lacklustre; Mikael was wasteful and the front three of Jantscher, Juninho and Temirov did not click. Kitchee's dominance in recent years has meant we have got complacent and got used to playing attackers out of positions, which has not worked this season. Kim Shin-wook is being paid an obscene salary to sit around and do absolutely nothing, and the club parted ways acrimoniously with an aging Dejan in the summer. Kitchee's front three against Eastern were all brought in to fill the goalscoring gap and while all have contributed at times, they are not at the same level. 

Photo by Erikson

While Jantscher's departure is the only one confirmed for this summer, numerous other players are likely on the way out, and fans can tell from the body language some of these players are done. While only used as a late sub today, Igor Sartori has offered very little and will probably return to Tai Po in the summer. Cleiton and Mikael have spent much of this season collecting yellow cards for a series of stupid fouls and petulant behaviour, missing multiple games and will likely leave in the summer. Mikael may be the joint top scorer in the league, but against better quality opposition, he goes missing. How a man with such a poor work ethic supposedly has Chinese Super League interest is absolutely ridiculous. There are also question marks about the futures of many other senior players, with Huang Yang and Helio likely off as well. The squad lacks leaders, and alongside this issue a major squad rebuild is needed, given the only chance of continental football is winning the FA Cup, requiring a semi final win against Eastern and probably a final victory against Lee Man.

The players came to applaud the fans post game, but there was an obvious reluctance and the majority got out of there as quickly as possible. When approached by fans many players claimed to be fighting for the club, and that they haven't shut up shop with summer moves being lined up, but quite frankly this is utter nonsense. Kitchee this season has been a load of overpaid mediocrity, happy to 'stat pad' and gain fan praise against the likes of HKU23 and HKFC, but fail to deliver in another big game. Eastern may not have the talent that we have, but by integrating young players over the years, recruiting well and finding a system that suits the players they have available, they have come away with the win, after feeling robbed following the Senior Shield final and the return league fixture.

Photo by Erikson

Recent recruitment has been poor; Damcevski and Onazi were brought in to add quality for the ACL, but both ended up being mercenaries playing a level far below what was promised. Kim Shin-wook does not play, and his expensive three year contract means Kitchee cannot force his exit anytime soon. It seems the club are maintaining the narrative of him being 'injured' for the best part of a year. Tan Chun-lok was playing in the Chinese Super League as recently as 2022, and finds himself on the bench most weeks as Kitchee opt for the Brazilian duo of Cleiton and Mikael. Jakob Jantscher looked good in the ACL, but has been shifted around the frontline and only scored twice in the league, although in his defence Kitchee don't play him against poor opposition to give him the opportunity to milk his stats. Juninho came in with a good reputation from his spell at Rangers, and again has contributed on occasion but has also struggled for fitness and finding his best position. Temirov works hard and does score (5 in 11 in the league), but is not enough to be a long term solution to Dejan. Igor Sartori came in last season but this season has zero goals or assists against top half sides. Linked with a return to Tai Po in January, that seems a strong probability come the summer, especially considering his actions after the 0-0 draw there the other week.

Photo by Erikson

Fans are doubtful of lifting one of the remaining cups. When the chips are down, the players do not deliver. There are a litany of issues at the club that the continued success and the lack of sustained domestic challenge allowed the club to become complacent about. Kim Dong-jin has been unable to get the best out of our players since replacing Alex Chu in September. Injuries have not helped, but there is a reluctance to change anything tactically, although some would argue the quality options are not there. Kitchee's bench is rarely called upon, other than in comfortable victories, leading to some players being overworked. A big summer beckons, with big questions about player recruitment, tactical philosophy, youth development and coaching all needing to be answered.

What's next for Kitchee

No game this weekend. HKFA incompetence means we are still yet to know the date of our FA Cup semi-final against Eastern, our next game. It is likely to be next weekend (11th/12th) but it is mind-blowing that less than two weeks before, there is still no fixed date time or location. All things considered, it will likely be at Mong Kok Stadium. Following this we have the Sapling Cup final (15th), Southern away in the league (18th) and then Lee Man's probable title procession (26th), with a potential FA cup final to follow. The title may be gone, but can we salvage some more cup success?