Tears for Pegasus players in sad farewell
Three-year stint in top flight over after loss to YFCMD in crucial play-off encounter
Sun Pegasus bid farewell to their brief three-year stint in the Hong Kong top flight after losing to YFCMD 3-2 in an AFC Cup play-off at Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground last night.
There was a sharp contrast between the two sides at the final whistle. While YFCMD celebrated their place in the play-off final against South China, dejected Sun Pegasus players took their last team photo with fans who came to support them.
The match was a replay of the one abandoned on Saturday when heavy rain left the Mong Kok ground waterlogged. Sun Pegasus were leading 1-0 before that match was abandoned after the first half.
Last night, Brazilian striker Fernando Pedreira grabbed a brace in the first half before Mamadou Barry got YFCMD's third.
Sun Pegasus closed the gap with two goals in the last 10 minutes but it was too little, too late for them, despite the sending off of YFCMD defender Wong Chun-ho in the closing stages.
"We created more chances than our opponents but our poor finishing cost us dearly," said Sun Pegasus coach Chan Chi-hong, who broke into the tears at the end of the match. "Our target was to reach the play-off final and win a berth in the 2016 AFC Cup, even though the team will be taken over by a new sponsor from next season.
"It's now all gone after we lost the match. The most disappointing thing for the last three seasons is that we failed to win any silverware, despite coming close on a number of occasions.
"I hope the players can stay but it's up to the new sponsors to reveal their plans. I can't do anything."
YFCMD coach Lee Chi-kin admitted the absence of Fernando would affect their chances in the play-off final as the foreign player had been a reliable striker with eight goals this season.
Coupled with the injury to another striker, Kenji Fukuda, they would be up against it in the final.
"We may be sending a big gift to South China without our two key players up front," said Lee, who won the best coach award of the year "but we got all the way to the final and we won't give up without a fight".
"The players understand the importance of the match and will definitely give their best."