A penalty a piece splits the points on the final day- Eastern 1 Kitchee 1

Credits to HKFA

A very dull game to finish a disappointing season. Very few clearcut chances from either side, before penalties in the closing stages from Temirov and Baffoe gave each side a point.

Team news

Jay Haddow remained injured, but did train for the first time in two months this week, while Helio was denied a farewell after his red card last week. Bae Jae-woo missed out, with Kitchee bizarrely having three goalkeepers (including two foreigners) on the bench for the final game of the season.

Credits to HKFA

Kitchee started five players involved in the U22 FA Cup win on Wednesday night, and made four changes to the side from last week's defeat. Wang and Mingazow made their first starts in four months, while Leon returned from suspension to start for the first time since late March, having been sent off after coming on in his last appearance. Law Tsz-chun made his first start since Kitchee were humbled 4-0 by Lee Man in mid April. The four came in for Talley, Bae, Helio and Fernando (who had started 15 of Kitchee's last 16 games- only missing the Sapling Cup through international duty). Tom Yeung's second half cameo was his first minutes for the senior side since December, while Poon Pui-hin's was his longest since seemingly becoming a scapegoat for the collapse at home to Kowloon City at the end of February.

Credits to HKFA

Wang; Law (Ngan 46), Leon, Dantas, Jordan; Rey, Lok (c) (Yeung 76), Juninho (Fernando 46); Mingazow (Poon 76), Temirov (Slattery 76), Machado

Unused subs: Lung, Enikar, Hin, Buddle, Tuscany, Talley, Jason

Match highlights

Credits to HKFA

There was a strange atmosphere as most 'neutrals' took up camp at either Tai Po or Tsing Yi as the battle for the league went down to the last day. The 787 spectators at Mong Kok were 'treated' to a fairly dull affair. Machado blazed over after a mazy run, and Mingazow also went close. Bertomeu hit one over the bar for Eastern, and the first half ended 0-0.

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Half time saw another Kitchee double change, with Law and Juninho withdrawn for Fernando and Ngan Cheuk-pan. Lee Chun-ting missed a great chance as Wang closed him down. Rey was taken down in the box with 20 minutes left (there was no VAR to double check as the HKFA's resources did not stretch for four stadiums to use it at once). Temirov converted on what is set to be his last game in a Kitchee shirt, with the club paying tribute to departing captain Helio. Some symmetry as Temirov had opened our account for the season with a penalty against North District nearly nine months ago, and his penalty was our final goal of the campaign. Soon afterwards, a triple change saw Temirov, Mingazow and Tan Chun-lok replaced by Poon, Slattery and perhaps surprisingly striker Tom Yeung, who became our third right back of the day, with Ngan moving into midfield. Leon hauled down Baffoe with barely 5 minutes remaining, and Baffoe converted to secure the golden boot. In the end a draw was probably a fair result from two teams hoping for more next season in the league. 

Fan feedback

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This season has been tumultuous, with a lot of fan anger in the stands. Kitchee finish the league season with a second consecutive fourth place finish, and a mass exodus of players and staff is expected again. We would be very surprised if many of those starting on Sunday are still here when the 2025/26 season comes around. Same old story with a lack of clearcut chances and a clinical striker- this has surely got to be addressed in the summer, and it was strange to see a bench of twelve named featuring three goalkeepers- Bae Jae-woo was left out and looks to be leaving, but why not give a few of the youngsters a taste of a first team matchday? 

What's next

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That's Kitchee's season done until the end of August. Hong Kong play Manchester United, Nepal, and India, all in the next few weeks. Hong Kong's final squad for Manchester United is confirmed with six Kitchee players included- Leon Jones, Helio, Tan Chun-lok, Fernando, Ngan Cheuk-pan and Juninho, who will hope to be included for the more competitive fixtures afterwards. Hong Kong's youth teams also play in June, and we have a number of representatives in the preliminary squads- Jason Kam, Chen Ngo-hin and Matthew Slattery have all been called up for the U22s, while Tuscany Shek, Chan Yin-hei, Lam Pak-yin, Sin Wai-kiu, Li Siu-hin and Yiu Tsz-leong have been called up to the U20s. Chan Shing-chun and Tom Yeung Cheuk-kwan have been called up for both preliminary squads at this stage.

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Club captain Helio confirmed his departure, with him being applauded in the 5th minute to celebrate his contribution of eleven years and 225 Kitchee games with the club, with six league titles, five Hong Kong cups, four Senior Shields and one Sapling Cup. We wish him and all our other departures all the best in their next steps- we expect the club to announce departures this week. It has been known for a while that head coach Edgar Cardoso is also departing, and according to SCMP, chairman Ken Ng hopes to confirm and reveal the new manager in early June. We understand Kitchee have more or less confirmed the signing of Kendy from North District; to join Callum Beattie and probably around ten other new signings.

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That's the end of our match reports for the season, but stay tuned for our end of season review, transfer information and news of international action, and potentially an interview or two.

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Photo credits to On tv  and HKFA

Match highlights