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

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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

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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. 

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

Thanks to our photographers this week.

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Jarly