League

Two wins from two sent Eastern to top of league

Photo Credit: HKFA

The 6-goal thriller at Aberdeen saw Rangers equalised late to secure a point against Southern. Pegasus edged past Resources Capital with a 1:0 win, after both teams suffered heavy defeats in the first week. Happy Valley surprised some with a composed performance to draw Kitchee, while the match week ended with another 5-goal comeback win from Eastern over Lee Man. 

The match week 2 started with a dramatic 3:3 draw between Southern and Rangers at Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon. The on-form Stefen Perriera gave the home team the lead at 24’ with a brilliant strike finding the top far corner of the net after new signing Jordan Lam capitalised on a defensive error. The game then went in a stalemate with chances not troubling either keepers too much. In the 71th, Stephen Ha was picked up by a long upfield cross and calmly sent the ball to the far post. Rangers did not just stop there and pulled one back when substitute Lam Hok-hei poked home from a cross just two minutes later. Stephen Ha’s second goal of the day restored the Aberdeeners’ 2 goals lead four minutes later when Ha sent home Cheng Chun-wang’s inch-perfect cross in with a diving header at the far post. Lo Kwan-yee kept Rangers in the game with five minutes remaining, by heading in Chow Ka-lok’s cross to make it 3:2. The dramatic late equaliser came at 90’ from Fernando Lopes, who converted Wong Chun-hin’s goalward cross into the net.

Later on Saturday afternoon was a close encounter between Resources Capital and Pegasus, after both sides suffered heavy defeats in the opening round. The Flying Horsemen almost scored from Lau Hok-ming’s header, which was saved by Lam Chun-kit, but Kessi’s one-yard shot was also cleared by Albert Canal. The men in pink had a similar chance later when Felipe Sa’s curling effort was tipped over to the bar by Leung Hing-kit, and Yue Tsz-nam’s subsequent close-range attempt was also denied by Leung. The deadlock was broken in the 30th, when Kessi scored from close range from Lau Hok-ming’s cross. Resources Capital pressed on for an equaliser and Felipe Sa found the back of the net but it was ruled out offside. Pegasus netted their first win and became the third team in the league with a win whilst Resources Capital still searched for their first point. 

The reigning champion Kitchee shared a point with Happy Valley at home on Sunday afternoon. Happy Valley started off brightly with close chances from their Nigerian duo Roberto Odu and Rasaq Adegbite. The goal came after 18 minutes, Robert Odu was sent clear from his own half on a counter, dribbled past the only defender Clement Benhaddouche before calmly sending it past the keeper. Robert Odu then had another one-on-one chance to double the lead but was blocked by Wang Zhenpang coming out of his box. There was a handball claim from it ignored by the referees, along with some other close calls from the officials, it got increasingly heated and fierce in the middle of the park. The Bluewaves looked a shadow of its former self and only came closest in the first half when Wellingsson de Souza hit the crossbar with a long-range effort. With the addition of Tong Kin-man, Huang Yang and Manu Gavilan, Kitchee slowly regained their momentum in the final 30 minutes and found the equaliser through Li Ngai-hoi’s header from a Cleiton’s freekick in the 74th minute. Kitchee continued to press on the increasingly tired away team while the men in Green also had several counter opportunities from the opened up space but both teams failed to find the winner.

The final match of Week 2 was a goal-filled exchange among Lee Man and Eastern. The Warriors opened the score after just four minutes, when Givaniton drove down the left, edging past his defender before slotting home from a tight angle. Everton Camargo then won a penalty but his shot from the spot was saved by Chan Ka-ho. The equaliser still came soon when Sandro curled Lucas’ smart backheel pass into the inside on the net to equalise for Eastern at the 13th. At 26’, Lucas’ initial header was cleared off the line by Tsang Kam-to but the Brazilian headed in the rebound to give the Blues the lead. The lead only lasted for five minutes, when Wong tsz-ho was penalised for a penalty with a shove on Michael N’dri, which the French talisman made no mistake to level the scores again. Towards the end of the first half, Lucas had an aerobic volley hitting the post while Givanilton also saw his one-on-one solved by Yapp Hung-fai on the other end to keep it at 2:2 into the break. Both sides had their fair share of opportunities denied by the keepers. The winner came in the 70th when Educardo Praes headed in from Joao Emir’s freekick. In the closing minutes, Michael N’dri saw his effort rolling agonizingly wide. 

Being the only team that has not dropped any point from the first two rounds, Eastern climbed to the top of the league table, followed by Southern with 4 points. Resources Capital remained at the bottom as the only pointless team. 

 

Match results

Southern 3:3 Rangers (Nov 28th 3pm, Aberdeen Sports Ground, Attendance: 418)

Resources Capital 0:1 Pegasus (Nov 28th 5:30pm, Tsing Yi Sports Ground, Attendance: 538)

Kitchee 1:1 Happy Valley (Nov 29th 3pm, Mong Kok Stadium, Attendance: 1407)

Lee Man 2:3 Eastern (Nov 29th 5:30pm, Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, Attendance: 937)

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