Category: football

Kitchee Claim First Ever ACL Win

Kitchee became the first Hong Kong team to win a match in the AFC Champions League when in dramatic fashion with a goal in the 93 minute they beat Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 at the Hong Kong Stadium.

Kitchee academy graduate Cheng Chin Lung, an 80th minute substitute, was the hero… Deep in stoppage time the 20 year-old picked up the ball on right side of the penalty area, moved the ball onto his left foot and curled a spectacular shot into the top left hand corner of the net. A goal worthy of an historic achievement.

“I always remember my father’s words: ‘If you do not shoot, you will never score,” said Cheng after the match. “I need to thank him, as he always encourages me to play better and to shoot more.”

Watch the match highlights here

https://youtu.be/zfRrdwyF5X0

Hong Kong Win HK-Guangdong Cup 4-2 on Penalties

Tse Long-hin scored the crucial penalty as Hong Kong won the 40th Hong Kong-Guangdong Cup 4-2 on penalties. After winning the first leg 2-0 at the HK Stadium on the 4 January, Hong Kong lost the second leg away as Guangdong reversed the score at home as they triumphed 2-0 in Guangzhou.

https://www.facebook.com/hkleague/videos/1796631947013745/

With the match all square after normal time goalkeeper Douglas Yuen Ho-chun – who made several fine saves during the game – was the star in the penalty shoot-out saving twice as Hong Kong won 4-2 and regained the Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup for the first time in five years.

“The boys performed really well under the circumstances,” said interim Hong Kong coach Kenneth Kwok Ka-lok. “We are a young side and some of the players were suffering from injuries and even illness so that made it more difficult. But we had fire in our bellies and we handled the pressure, even in the penalty shootout where we held our own. We rose to the occasion. It wasn’t an easy thing to do.”

Leicester City Win Soccer Sevens

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Leicester City claimed the Soccer Sevens for a second time defeating defending champions Aston Villa 3-0 in Sunday’s final at Hong Kong Football Club.

The tournament’s leading scorer 18 year-old Josh Eppiah scored twice, while Joshou Gordon was also on target as Leicester produced a dominant performance to add to their 2013 title.

Eppiah’s brace took him to eight goals for the competition, edging Villa’s seven-goal Harry McKirdy for the top scorer accolade. The forward was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player to cap an excellent three days.

“I’m over the moon and proud of myself. I took my chances well but the team and the staff around me have helped,” said Eppiah, who also scored twice in the 3-1 quarter-final win over West Ham United and once in the semi-final victory against Glasgow Rangers.

“This whole tournament has been amazing and I’d love to come back next year because I’m still a youngster and have more years to come back and do the same as I did today,” Eppiah added. “The boys fought, held on, came back and in the final we were all up for it so we came out and gave it everything we have.”

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Six-time winners Villa had impressed on the way to the final defeating Italian debutants Cagliari Calcio 3-0 in the last eight and French newcomers Olympique Marseille in the semi-final.

But Leicester had also looked strong over the weekend after winning all five of their games, and captain Hamza Choudhury’s man-marking of McKirdy in the final proved key as the Foxes nullified Villa’s main threat before running out deserved winners.

Runners-up in the previous two edition, West Ham enjoyed success this time around by lifting the Shield following a 2-0 victory over Cagliari in the final. After being eliminated by Leicester in the Cup quarter-finals, the Hammers dropped down to the Shield and returned to form to beat local side HKFA U-23s in the semi-final, before Joe Powell and Jaanai Gordon netted in the final against Cagliari.

Tournament debutants Bayer Leverkusen were crowned Plate champions as goals from Julijan Popovic and Berkan Arik helped claim a 2-1 win over Wellington Phoenix in the final. The German side defeated hosts Hong Kong Football Club and Kashima Antlers in the quarter- and semi-finals before seeing off the New Zealanders.

Citi All Stars retained their Masters Tournament title after Jamie Cureton scored his second goal of the game at the death to clich a dramatic 3-2 victory over Wallsend Boys Club in the final.

The match-winning strike capped an excellent weekend for the former Norwich City forward, who claimed the top scorer award with nine goals before being named the Masters Tournament MVP.

“We’ve played well throughout the entire tournament and from the second half [in the final] I thought we performed really well and deserved to win it,” said Cureton. “It’s my job to score goals, I didn’t expect to get as many as nine, but I’m very pleased. I came three or four years ago and we didn’t do very well, so I’m hoping the nine goals and winning will get me an invite again next year.”

Tournament debutants, and major disappointments, playonPROS won the Masters Shield after Emile Heskey scored a sublime free-kick to claim a 3-2 victory over Discovery Bay in the final.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Soccer-Sevens-HK-Football-Club-28-May-2017/i-jKpFB5M

Additional reporting and images: HKFA Soccer Sevens

Soccer Sevens: Sunday 28 May, 2017

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The anticipation and expectation levels were high, the sun was out – but in truth much of the football was poor and rather dull over the first couple of days of the Soccer Sevens. And it showed on Sunday with the public stand only about half-full for the finals…
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Soccer Sevens Saturday Action

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Defending Soccer Sevens champions Aston Villa survived a scare before advancing to a Cup quarter-final against Italian newcomers Cagliari Calcio after topping Group C at Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday.

After defeating Singapore Cricket Club 1-0 in their tournament opener, Villa drew 2-2 with local side HKFA U-23. A loss to Bayer Leverkusen would have seen the six-time champions exit the Main Tournament, but Jordan Cox and captain Harry McKirdy scored to secure a 2-0 victory to condemn the German debutants to the Plate as HKFA U-23s also advanced to a last eight meeting with Glasgow Rangers.

“Leverkusen are a strong team, but we were outstanding, we dominated and made a statement,” said 2016 top scorer McKirdy, who’s appearing in his fourth Soccer Sevens. “We showed a togetherness in the end. We’ve been confident since we came out and we showed we are a strong team.”

Rangers enjoyed a fine return to the competition after a two-year hiatus, winning their first two games in Group A to book their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare. But the Scottish visitors were unable to complete a 100% record as Cagliari posted a 1-0 win to edge above HKFA Red Dragons into second place and a spot in the last eight.

“It was obviously good to top the group although it was a disappointing result at the end,” said Rangers captain Max Ashmore. “We’re in the quarter-finals so it will be good to get the experience. We’re confident. I think you can see from the first two games what we can do and we’re definitely more than good enough to win the tournament.”

A similar scenario played out in Group D as West Ham United, runners-up in the previous two editions, started the tournament with a win and a draw to seal their place in the knockout stage. But the Hammers lost out on top spot as French debutants Olympique Marseille followed up successive draws with an impressive 3-0 victory over the London side to finish top of the standings.

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The win earned Marseille a quarter-final meeting with HKFC Captain’s Select, with West Ham handed a meeting with Leicester City. Former winners Leicester were in dominant form after winning Group B with a perfect record, with hosts HKFC Captain’s Select joining the English side in the last eight after victory over Wellington Phoenix and a draw with Kashima Antlers.

In the Masters competition, Jamie Cureton scored five goals in two games as holders Citi All Stars progressed to the semi-finals as Group A winners following back-to-back victories on Saturday, with HKFC Masters finishing as runners-up.

Wallsend Boys Club topped Group B after picking up two wins from two on Saturday afternoon and, in turn, eliminating the star-studded playonPROS as Hong Kong’s Yau Yee League Masters claimed second place.

Citi All Stars continue their title defence against Yau Yee League Masters, with Wallsend taking on HKFC Masters for a place in the final. PlayonPROS will, however, return on Sunday to play fellow third-place side Discovery Bay in the Masters Plate final.

Additional reporting and images: HKFA Soccer Sevens

Tottenham Hotspur v Kitchee @ HK Stadium – 26 May, 2017

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Over 27,000 Spurs fans from across Asia and beyond packed the HK Stadium to see Tottenham take on Kitchee. Spurs have dazzled on the pitch this season and did the same in the land surrounding Victoria’s Harbour. A great week for the fans! COYS!!
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images and video.

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Soccer Sevens, Hosts Shine On Opening Night

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Hosts HKFC Masters made the perfect start to the Soccer Sevens with wins over former finalists USRC and defending champions Citi All Stars in Group A at Hong Kong Football Club.

The hosts began with a 1-0 victory over 2016 runners-up USRC before returning to secure a hugely impressive win by the same margin against Citi All Stars to leave themselves in a strong position ahead of the two remaining group games on Saturday.

In Group B, tournament regulars Wallsend Boys Club opened with a resounding 5-1 victory over HKFC Chairman’s Select. Wallsend looked set to also end the day on six points, but former Cagliari Calcio forward Daniele Conti equalised for KCC Veterans in the final game of the night as the tie ended in a 1-1 draw.

“I think we were a bit sloppy. They played a good game and made it difficult for us, but I think we gave the game away,” said Wallsend forward Daniel McBreen, whose side are above Yau Yee League Masters on goal difference at the top of Group B, “We’re still confident. We’ll just go out there and do what we can do and enjoy ourselves along the way.”

Citi All Stars started strongly as former Norwich City forward Jamie Cureton opened the scoring against Discovery Bay, before former Portugal international Luis Boa Morte coolly rounded the goalkeeper to seal a 2-0 win.

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But the defending champions were unexpectedly beaten in their second game when HKFC Masters produced one of the performances of the night to leave the defending champions with much to do ahead of their remaining two group games on Saturday. “It was tough out there and we’re all tired,” said Citi All Stars’ former Glasgow Rangers defender Marvin Andrews. “But we’ll get better and we’ll lift the title again this year.”

Making their first appearance at a tournament, playonPROS started sluggishly as the Yau Yee League Masters caught them off guard to claim a 1-0 victory. But the side featuring former England internationals Emile Heskey, David James and Des Walker, as well as ex-Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre and one-time Blackburn Rovers captain Colin Hendry hit back strongly with a 1-0 victory over HKFC Chairman’s Select to leave the side just a point off the top of the Group B standings.

“The second game went better than the first one,” said Heskey after scoring the winner against HKFC Chairman’s Select. “It was tough, it takes some getting used to with the weather and how to play on this pitch with just seven players. But we got to grips with it and I thought we did OK. We need to take our chances when we get them. In the first game we hit the woodwork twice, so I think we can score more goals.”

PlayonPROS sit a point adrift of the leaders and one ahead of KCC Veterans with HKFC Chairman’s Select propping up the standings having yet to get off the mark. Yau Yee League Masters, meanwhile, won one and drew one to end the day level on points with Wallsend at the top of the table.

Additional reporting and images: HKFA Soccer Sevens

Hong Kong to Host Premier League Asia Trophy

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The Premier League Asia Trophy returns to the HK Stadium later this summer as it was announced today that Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion will compete in biennial tournament with matches taking place on Wednesday 19 and Saturday 22 July.

This will be the fourth time the Asia Trophy has been contested in Hong Kong and tickets will go on sale in June. They will be sold per match day (19 July, 22 July) with each ticket allowing access to both matches on that day.

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Premier League Asia Trophy
Date: 19, 22 July, 2017
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: tbc