One league win in five as Kitchee drop points again- Eastern 1 Kitchee 1

By Adam O'Domhnaill

Summary

Kitchee dropped points yet again in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Eastern, our fifth in the league this season. While Kitchee took the lead, and were the better team, they could not grab a winner. Luis Machado's second goal in as many games gave Kitchee the lead, before a controversial penalty awarded against Fynn Talley saw Baffoe equalise from the spot before half time. Both sides had chances to win it, with Kitchee arguably the more disappointed, having had the better of the second half.

Team news

Kitchee made five changes from last weeks draw. Talley, Law, Leon, Fernando and Mingazow came into the starting eleven, at the expense of Wang, Chen Ngo-hin, Helio and Temirov who all dropped to the bench, and Bae Jae-woo who came out of the matchday squad. Fernando captained the side on his first start since October, playing in a central midfield role, with Juninho on the bench after his injury sustained on international duty in December.

Talley; Law, Leon, Dantas, Jordan; Ngan, Rey, Fernando (c) (Poon 67), Machado (Juninho 84), Welthon, Mingazow (Temirov 26)

Match events

Felipe Sa and Marcos Gondra went close for Eastern early on, as Kitchee struggled to deal with the onslaught. After fifteen minutes, long ball forward from Jordan Lam played in Mingazow, who escaped the Eastern defence to tee up Machado to score his second goal in as many games. Ten minutes later, Mingazow was involved in a nasty collision, and had to be withdrawn for Temirov (later disclosed by the club to be fractured ribs), and Machado switched to the left wing. Just after the half hour, a long ball forward from Eastern saw Baffoe send an effort goalwards past Talley, with Dantas clearing it off the line. But the referee inexplicably blew for a penalty after a 'foul' by the English goalkeeper, which was duly converted by Baffoe. The first half finished without further incident at 1-1.

Hong Kong centurion Yapp Hung-fai had a very strong start to the second half, denying Temirov and Leon Jones with sublime stops. Jordan Lam's poor clearance and the resultant pinball played in Baffoe, but Talley kept him out, before Yapp got a fingertip on Ngan Cheuk-pan's glanced header. Substitute Poon Pui-hin hit the bar and came agonisingly close with an improvised effort after the ball was cleared. Another good low save from Talley prevented an Eastern cross finding Baffoe, before Anson Wong missed a golden chance to give the hosts the lead. Both sides will feel as though they could have won, but it is Eastern who leave happier, and Kitchee have one win in five league games.

Fan feedback

Yet again more points dropped, and the title is looking more and more unlikely, regardless of what happens next week in Tai Po. There is no presence in midfield; despite the good effort put in by Ngan Cheuk-pan and Aaron Rey, they are often pushed off the ball, and there are rumours of a new player coming in. The attack is toothless; Welthon has looked abysmal in recent weeks, and playing Temirov on the wing has never looked effective, and with Mingazow's injury looking serious fans will hope not to see this again. Machado scored again but was largely invisible, and Poon Pui-hin had a good cameo, going close to scoring. We would like to see a front three of Poon Temirov and Machado next week, with Welthon off the bench. We also saw Law Tsz-chun and Jordan Lam drifting into inverted fullback roles, although neither were particularly effective, and the same could be said for Fernando in attacking midfield.

Kitchee were dominant but with limited cutting edge. Defensively they are looking solid, and Dantas and Leon have a strong partnership, with Dantas being awarded man of the match. Talley's confidence is growing, and the penalty award was harsh, although overall fan view is mixed. Periods of Eastern pressure were nullified by the young Englishman in goal, who is starting to justify the risk taken at the start of the season.

What's next

Tai Po away next Sunday (26th) at 3pm. A huge game, where anything less than a win probably means the end to Kitchee's title challenge. Tickets will likely need to be booked in advance, and we will share the link when available. We will have to do without the services of Mingazow, who joins Tan Chun-lok and Jay Haddow on our injury list.

Match highlights

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