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Easter Sunday truly a day of miracles

CHRIST rose from the dead to walk again on Easter Sunday. Another resurrection, but not of Biblical proportions, took place yesterday.

South China, written off as underdogs, rose from nowhere to triumph in the territory's most prestigious tournament.

It was the day for miracles. And South China did not let down their legion of fans, pulling off a remarkable victory, built on sheer belief and determination.

For a side who have languished in despair all season and needing to hark back to the past for moments of glory, the South China that took the pitch yesterday were hardly recognisable.

Rejuvenated, they nailed opponents Instant-Dict to the cross, with two decisive strikes early in the second half. Coming in the space of six minutes, the twin goals crucified the upstarts.

Only in their third season as a club, Instant-Dict have still to win a major trophy. South China, in an illustrious history that has spanned many decades, meanwhile had donned the Viceroy title six times.

Title number seven had looked unlikely minutes earlier when the ball was set rolling to resume the second half after a barren first 45 minutes. People were still straggling back to their seats with their Maxim's chicken legs and their McDonald's hamburgers as Instant-Dict's Graham Harvey struck.

Up 1-0, and hardly having had time to bite the Haagen Dazs, Instant-Dict's vociferous fans were silenced by the swift retaliatory strikes from South China.

Perhaps the arrogance of believing that one goal won a championship was Instant's downfall. Or maybe they truly believed they were invincible - especially after their recent 5-0 humiliation of Eastern in the semi-finals.

Whatever the reasons, they paid for losing their concentration against a side which grew in stature by the second.

Inspired perhaps by the fact that they were playing a Cup final on a ground they regard as their home turf - even if the newly laid Hong Kong Stadium pitch resembled a flying carpet - South China looked increasingly like winners.

Every time the ball swept upfield through the deft touches of the likes of Anto Grabo, Alen Bajkusa or Wu Qun-li, a die-hard fan high in the stands sounded his approval on an ancient Chinese drum.

To the rhythm of the drum, South China played out the balance of the match, warding off relentless waves of attack from desperate Instant-Dict, rapidly seeing another Cup dream disappear.

As so often happens in football, the side attacking is not the side which scores in the end. Once again, against the flow, South China scored goal number three, in the final seconds of injury-time.

Injury-time lasted seven minutes - an eternity for South China goalkeeper Werner Kooistra, who must have died a million times. And he was born again, too, every time the crisis of a Instant attack had passed.

''I was the happiest person on the field to hear the final whistle,'' said the 26-year-old Kooistra afterwards. ''I thought it would never end.'' Instant-Dict wished it had never ended. For their goal-hero Harvey, however, there was a premature end - indiscretion earning him a red card in the dying minutes of the game.

The day had started so promisingly for Instant-Dict. They had showered the crowd with miniature versions of their mascot bunny before the game. But their fans surely would have preferred a title. It was not to be as the Easter Bunny was sent hopping.

Instead, it was left to South China to raise their game and to crown their Easter Sunday with another Viceroy title.

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