Borel will play on, says chairman
ERNEST Borel chairman Thomas Tang Kwok-wah has poured cold water on rumours that his club are on the verge of folding by saying: ''We will be playing next season for sure.'' Rumours were rife that Borel, the First Division's biggest spenders with a budget of $9 million, would be going out of existence at the end of the season after their disappointing performances in the league and cup competitions.
But Tang said his team, due to begin their defence of the FA Cup later this month, would continue to play.
''I know there have been a lot of rumours circulating that our club may not continue, but we will be playing next season.
''This has been decided by our management. Our coach Tsui Kwok-on said we should continue to play and other members of the management supported his views. That news has given the team renewed confidence.
''Things might not be going well for us but we are hoping for better things. We may even increase our budget to $10 million,'' he said.
Borel celebrated the good news with a 4-0 thrashing of Kitchee in their First Division fixture at Mongkok Stadium yesterday.
Two goals in each half gave Borel their first victory in three matches.
Borel, who left striker Peter Murray and goalkeeper Tim Dalton on the bench, had most of the play in a scrappy affair.
They took the lead in the 38th minute thanks to a stroke of fortune. Choy Wai-man's curling left-wing cross clipped the cross-bar and the alert Ng Kam-hung scored from the rebound.
Keith Thompson made it 2-0 in first-half injury time when he shook off marker Fong Chi-ming near the six-yard box and turned in a low shot past Kitchee goalkeeper Chung Ho-yin.
Kitchee fought back early in the second half and came close to scoring in the 52nd minute with Mark Barham's header scraping the bar and Tong Yuen-sing narrowly off target in the 68th minute.
Their best chance came two minutes later when John Widdows' header was cleared off the line by full-back Clive Goodyear.
Borel sealed the victory with two strikes in a minute.
Au Wai-lun made it 3-0 in the 86th minute when he was sent through by Ng and won a fierce tussle with defender Widdows before squeezing his shot past Chung.
Chan Kwok-fai put the icing on the cake with Borel's fourth, volleying home from close range after Craig Foster had cleverly rounded the 'keeper.
Soccer roundup: Page 17
