Another ACL2 point, but Kitchee will feel they could've taken all three- Kuching 1 Kitchee 1

Summary

Kitchee remain unbeaten in the ACL2, but will rue their ineffectiveness in the final third. An early error from Bear in failing to deal with a backpass gifted Kuching the lead, and Everton equalised soon afterwards. The game had peaks and troughs of entertainment- Adrian and Juninho missed fantastic chances to give Kitchee the lead, while some smart stops from Bear and last-ditch defending meant it ended 1-1.

Team news

Marcos and Ari Lam remained out injured, with Mingazow suspended following his harsh dismissal against Gangwon. There was some good news, with Kanda and Dudu both returning to the matchday squad, although neither featured. Kitchee made three changes from Saturday's win over HKFC, with Mingazow, Jordan and Juninho dropping to the bench to be replaced by Jay Haddow, Kendy and Everton. Asier Illarramendi captained Kitchee for the first time, while there were continental debuts for Jay Haddow and Jason Kam from the start, and Jordan Lam off the bench.

Bear; Haddow, Riera, Jason (Jordan 64), Beattie; Everton, Illarramendi (c), Camarasa, Kendy (Juninho 59); Adrian (Lok 81)

Unused subs: Lung, Kanda, Enikar, Dudu, Shingchun, Nic Cheung, Yu Chingwai, Sephrey 

Match events

Not even two minutes had passed when Beattie's fairly routine backpass was mis controlled by Bear, gifting Kuching a very early lead. Everton, who posed problems throughout, was taken out multiple times by Joao Pedro, who somehow escaped a booking. From one of these freekicks Roger Riera headed wide, but from others Kuching dealt with the threat easily. After thirteen minutes Camarasa got into space and laid it off for Everton, who cut inside to score a trademark left footed finish, his first Kitchee goal since the opening day of the season. A last gasp Haddow tackle stopped Etame getting a shot off, and Bear saved from the dangerous Mujagic, who in a matter of minutes blasted over from close range and scored an offside goal. Just after half an hour through the game Bear had to be alert to stop a deflected shot from Shitembi. Kitchee had a decent spell of play just before half time. A jinking run from Everton set up Adrian, who hit the bar from close range, before another unpunished Joao Pedro foul on Everton gave Kitchee a great position, but nothing came from the freekick. On balance Kitchee had the greater possession, but Kuching had made the better chances.

Just after half time Shitembi shot from close range, drawing a save from Bear, and Obieta shot wide from distance. Kitchee then had to make two injury-enforced changes, with Kendy and Jason Kam having to come off, and adding to Kitchee's injury list. Mujagic headed wide from close range, before Dylan Wenzel-Halls forced an unorthodox save from Bear, and after Kitchee failed to clear Shitembi fired wide. Kitchee's best chance of the game fell to Juninho, who somehow missed the target with the goal gaping. Bear made another save, this time with his legs from Shitembi. Kitchee had had the majority of possession but could not make it count, and towards the end fatigue and cramp started to set in, so staying level was admirable.

Fan feedback 

For the second time in the competition, Kitchee will rue missed chances and wasted possession. There were only two shots on target, and there were two massive chances missed. Bear bounced back from his error to make a number of crucial saves, which earned him praise from opposing manager Aidil Sharin, Illarramendi and Camarasa were very good in midfield, while Roger Riera did well in defence marshalling a young backline with two young players on their continental debuts. Everton Camargo was arguably Kitchee's standout player, with his trademark goal something we have not seen much of in a Kitchee shirt. He had Kuching left back Joao Pedro on toast, and somehow the defender was not carded. The second half saw Kitchee lose two players to injury, with another two struggling with cramp. With such a short turnaround before the crucial league game with Lee Man on Monday Kitchee will be leggy.

What's next

Kitchee take on Lee Man on Monday night, 6.30pm at Mong Kok Stadium, in arguably Kitchee's toughest game of the season on paper. After that it is Tai Po in the Senior Shield on October 24th at Tsing Yi Sports Ground. This is followed up by an ACL2 double header with current group leaders Phnom Penh Crown. Kitchee travel away on the 29th October and play the home game at Mong Kok Stadium on the 5th November, a 6pm kickoff.

Please follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest Kitchee news. We are at over 650 followers on Instagram and are at over 400 on Facebook. Facebook Instagram.

We were recently featured on Raymundo football podcast. Listen to the episode here.

Photos by Kitchee

Written by Adam O'Domhnaill