Kitchee come from behind as super sub Adrian secures derby victory- Kitchee 2 Eastern 1

Match summary

Kitchee ground out a hard-fought win over rivals Eastern to claim bragging rights and take a big step towards winning the league. A defensive mix up allowed Okubo to give Eastern an early lead, and Kitchee ended a first half behind for the first time this season. Calderon made the bold choice of substituting the booked pair of Tan Chun-lok and Dantas for Jason Kam and Adrian Revilla at half time. Adrian proved the difference maker; after setting up Leandro's equaliser with an exquisite pass, he got on the end of Illarramendi's long ball to score a late winner. After the trauma of the 2023-24 season, where Kitchee lost twice to Eastern in two weeks, Kitchee have now extended the unbeaten run over Eastern to six games.

Team news

Kitchee made five changes from the semi final victory midweek. League regulars Bear, Beattie, Illarramendi and Juninho came back in, with Cheng Chin-lung making a second consecutive league start. Leandro Martinez continued as centre forward after his good run of form. Jason Kam and Jordan Lam dropped to the bench, with Yumemi Kanda rested and Enikar and Tun Thurain also being left out in order to stick to foreign player limits. Chan Shing-chun came on for his first senior gametime since the end of November, and was in his first matchday squad since the end of January.

Bear; Riera, Dantas (Jason 46), Beattie; Mingazow, Lok (c) (Adrian 46), Illarramendi, Juninho (Jordan 90); Lung (Ari 75), Kendy, Leandro (Chan Shing-chun 90)

Unused subs: Wang, Anson, Buddle, Slattery, Li Siu-hin

Match events

Illarramendi and Lok went close in the opening exchanges. After good work down the left from Kitchee, Eastern keeper Cassaro claimed the ball off Lok's toe, with Lok catching him in the follow through. This drew blood on Cassaro's head and an angry reaction, with a yellow card for Lok and lengthy stoppage following. Gondra evaded Kitchee's defensive line, and when Dantas and Bear miscommunicated he poked it through and Okubo tapped it in despite the valiant efforts of Beattie. The dangerous Okubo then scored from Gondra's freekick, but he was offside. Eastern right back Callum Hall then went close from long range, and Kitchee went into halftime behind for the first time this season.

Calderon made a double sub and adjusted the team, which would prove to pay off massively. Mingazow went close after a great through ball from Lung, while Kendy also went close after good work on the right. Just after the hour, Adrian played an exquisite lofted through ball to Leandro, and the latter chipped the keeper with a first time finish. Kitchee pushed for a winner, and found one after seventy eight minutes. Illarramendi dispossed Lam Hin-ting in midfield, and played a lovely ball through to Adrian; the Spanish striker took a touch then scored with a composed finish. Eastern pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Kitchee held firm through substantial stoppage time.

Fan feedback

The first half saw Kitchee struggle, receiving three yellow cards, conceding a sloppy goal, andstruggling to get anything going. A three game week is always going to cause a bit of fatigue, and despite rotations for each game, Kitchee were poor in the first half. Calderon made the bold move of swapping out the booked duo of captain Tan Chun-lok and Dantas, bringing on Jason Kam and Adrian Revilla. Jason was a straight swap for Dantas, but Adrian's introduction required some tactical adjustments- Lung dropped into a deeper midfield role, with Leandro dropping into the attacking midfield position. The second half was much better, with Kitchee exploiting Eastern's stupidly high line twice. Adrian has looked tired in recent weeks and allowing him to play a couple of games coming off the bench meant he looked like a new man at the weekend. Leandro's form recently has been superb, with six goals in his last five games, while Illarramendi continues to show his class, dictating the pace of the game. Winning ugly is a sign of champions and while it is not wrapped up yet, Kitchee showed they can get the job done.

What's next

Hong Kong play on both the 26th (8.15pm) and the 31st (9.30pm), with both games supposedly on TV as per HKFA's promise, but the details of these are not totally confirmed. Tan Chun-lok, Jordan Lam, and Bear have made the final cut, although recent injuries to other players have led to discussions of late callups . Kitchee then have a break from domestic action until the League Cup final against Lee Man, which while originally scheduled for the 6th April at Mong Kok Stadium, rumours have circulated that it could be played on the 7th April at Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground. As always, this decision will likely be left until the last minute. The final league game of the regular season is against Rangers on the 12th April, at 6pm. Kitchee are currently five points away from sealing the league win, after Lee Man were held to a goalless draw by Kowloon City.

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Match highlights