Valley add to Caroliners' misery
Title chasing Happy Valley stretched their lead at the top of the Hong Kong First Division as struggling South China's season reached a critical point during a 4-1 rout at Mongkok Stadium yesterday.
While Valley went four points clear of defending champions Sun Hei - 5-0 winners over Buler Rangers in the day's other match - for their sixth win from 11 games, there were calls for South China's team management to step down by angry fans who accused the club of mismanagement and 'cheating' their fans, while launching a vicious personal attack on manager Lee Yun-wah.
The messages, which were displayed on the northeast stand and later removed by stadium staff, were evidence that all is not well for the once mighty club.
South China have fallen on tough times with the team now run on a modest budget - a far cry from the days when the former giants would spend up to $12 million a season. They remain third from bottom after a sixth league defeat.
Happy Valley forward Clodoaldo de Oliveira struck twice in the 17th and 64th minutes, while Fabio Alcantara and Marcio Anacleto were also on target. South China's Eder Ferreira scored the only goal for the Caroliners just four minutes after teammate Festus Baise was sent off for a second bookable offence following a dreadful tackle on Anacleto.
South China coach Ku Kam-fai trudged off the pitch with his charges after his team's latest slip-up, but the former club defender remained defiant despite calls by fans for the management to resign.
'We don't force the fans to watch our games. They come of their own accord. We have been struggling for a long time. There is always pressure on us and of course, we don't like to lose,' lamented Ku.
'We had three players suspended for today's game [Shum Kwok-pui, Lee Chi-ho and Fung Jizhi] and [striker] Au Wai-lun was injured so we were severely weakened from the start. To make matters worse, we had Baise sent off in the first half, which I thought was a harsh decision.
'I can say that I am responsible for the team, but if we have so many problems, what can we do?' he added.
'From the start of the season, we didn't have the local players and our foreign imports were not good enough. We had a lot of players leaving the team, too. We can't replace players so quickly. It all takes time. We have been losing confidence since this poor run. It's been hard for all of us.'
Meanwhile, Sun Hei replaced Citizen in second place after a clinical display against Buler Rangers.
Sasa Bajkusa netted in the 20th and 38th minutes in an entertaining first half, before Sun Hei went on the rampage after the break with goals from veteran winger Lee Kin-wo (52), Wong Chue-yue (74) and Chan Ho-man (80).
