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

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.

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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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Match highlights

Written by Adam O'Domhnaill