Oh what fun it is to see Kitchee win away! North District 1 Kitchee 2

Credits to Scoop

Kitchee maintained an unbeaten league start to the league season with a hard-fought win over North District. Our Sheung Shui opponents have been a bogey team in recent years, but second half goals from the Spanish duo of Leandro (his first from open play for the club) and Adrian, both set up by substitute Jay Haddow saw Kitchee go 2-0 up midway through the half. North District's prolific striker Samuel Granada pulled one back, but Kitchee held on, showing a resilience less commonly seen in previous Kitchee trips up north.

Team news

Ari, Juninho, Martinez came into the starting eleven, with Jordan and Lung dropping to the bench. Kendy was injured and replaced in the matchday squad by the returning Mingazov. Wang Zhenpeng and Matthew Slattery also returned to the bench. Tan Chun-lok made his 50th appearance for Kitchee.

Bear; Riera, Jason, Dantas; Ari (Haddow 46), Illarra, Lok, Juninho (Jordan 71); Kanda (Mingazov 61), Adrian, Leandro

Unused subs: Wang, Lung, Beattie, Slattery, Li

Match highlights

Credits to Scoop

Kitchee had a bright start, where Leandro had a soft penalty appeal denied. Home captain Danilo Santos headed over from a corner, before Leandro and Ari went close to giving Kitchee the lead. A Kitchee freekick was flicked on by Riera onto the post, and after some pinball Adrian blasted over. A moment of possible controversy ensued in the closing stages of the half; a risky ball from Riera was intercepted, and from the resulting counterattack Jason missed a tackle, and in recovery Lok dived in, receiving a yellow card when the opposing fans wanted a red- obvious bias aside, the yellow was the right call given Lok got the ball first. Weverton blasted over and the first half ended goalless.

Credits to Scoop

Haddow came on for Ari at half time, and he crossed for Kanda who went close early. A few minutes later Haddow set up Leandro who cut inside for his first open play goal this season. Vinicius went close, and earlier in the game had proven himself to be a bit of a pantomime villain for his theatrics. More good work from Haddow on the right set up Adrian, who needed two bites at the cherry to double Kitchee's lead. North District pushed on, and with just over ten minutes left Mingazov's shanked pass screwed up the defence, and Vinicius crossed for the clinical Granada to pull one back, giving Kitchee fans bad memories of the previous trips to this ground when they collapsed late on. But this time Kitchee held on which sent them six points clear.

Fan feedback

Credits to Scoop

Another game and another win, and Kitchee go into the Christmas break six points clear of second placed Lee Man. Kitchee worked hard in the first half and probably should have been a goal ahead. Jay Haddow's introduction at half time changed the game, with the youngster getting both assists with good work down the right hand side. Juninho continued in an unfamiliar left wing back role and worked hard, with teenager Ari Lam on the other side. Adrian scored again, and is proving himself to be a goal threat when he spends more time in the box. Ilarra and Tan Chun-lok in midfield were imperious, and the defensive trio complements each other well. The only minor blips were the careless pass from Riera and missed tackle from Jason which forced Lok into a desperate lunge, and Mingazov's ambitious cross-field pass to Dantas which led to North District's consolation goal.

What's next

Credits to SportsRoad

A Hong Kong team will take on Guangdong in the 44th Hong Kong-Guangdong Cup. The first leg is the 28th December in Hong Kong, with the second leg on the 3rd January in Guangdong- tickets for the home leg are available on ticketflap from 3pm on the 15th December. First game for interim boss Roberto 'Chino' Losada, who spent ten years at Kitchee as player and assistant coach before moving to rivals Eastern. Seven Kitchee players were named in the preliminary squad- Hong Kong squad regulars Tan Chun-lok and Junior being joined by Jay Haddow, Jason Kam, Jordan Lam, Cheng Chin-lung and Pong Cheuk-hei. It remains to be seen whether the final squad is full strength, or whether it is more of a development side given that Guangdong will send an U20 side. For Kitchee we return with away games against HKFC (11/1) and Rangers (17/1) and then six successive home games, where it is still yet to be determined officially whether that will be Mong Kok Stadium, Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground or Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.

Credits to SportsRoad

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Match highlights