South China silent over future of striker Kezman
A question mark still hangs over the future of Mateja Kezman as South China declined to comment after he missed their 3-1 FA Cup semi-final victory over Sun Hei at Hong Kong Stadium yesterday.
The former Serbia international had said on Saturday that the match against Sun Hei might be his last in Hong Kong, even though his contract with South China runs until the end of the month.
However, Kezman did not feature in yesterday's starting line-up, nor even among the list of substitutes; he watched the match from the spectator stands.
Neither South China convenor Steven Lo Kit-sing nor coach Chan Ho-yin was willing to talk about the player.
In front of 2,800 spectators, Chan Siu-ki opened the scoring for the Caroliners in the first half before Carlos dos Santos levelled the match for Sun Hei shortly after the break.
However, goals from Hong Kong international Kwok Kin-pong and captain Li Haiqiang, who hit a powerful 30-metre left-foot strike, condemned Sun Hei to defeat.
South China still have two matches left after a disappointing season in which they lost the First Division title to rivals Kitchee and were eliminated in the group stage of the AFC Cup.
They face a routine league match against Tai Chung this weekend before taking on Wo Foo Tai Po in the FA Cup final on May 29, which they will be hoping to add to the League Cup they won in mid-season.
Meanwhile, Tai Po beat TSW Pegasus 4-2 in the first semi-final despite ending the game with nine men.
The match went into 30 minutes of extra time after the teams were level at 2-2 after normal time. Although they had Lui Chi-hing and captain Chan Yuk-chi sent off during extra time, Tai Po scored two goals through Clayton Afonso and Chan Lap-ming to settle the matter.
Coach Cheung Po-chun paid tribute to the players' determination after their battling win. 'Thanks to great team spirit we scored twice in extra time, despite being at a numerical disadvantage,' he said.
Pegasus coach Chan Hiu-ming said he took full responsibility after his team failed to win a trophy for the first time in three seasons. 'We do not have a strong enough defence. That has cost us dearly on both the domestic and international front,' he said. 'Our target was to reach the knockout round in the AFC Cup and clinch a domestic title, but we failed.'
