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Unus Alladin

South China's teenage prodigy Chan Chi-hong repaid a huge slice of faith shown in him by coach Wong Man-wai when he blasted a hat-trick to lead the Caroliners to a 4-1 trouncing of Golden in the San Miguel FA Cup final at Hong Kong Stadium yesterday - their first win in the competition for five seasons.

Chan, 19 - voted Player of the Tournament by sports writers - has been a favourite of coach Wong, who has been grooming the youngster as a successor to winger Wu Qunli, whose season was finished by a broken leg last month.

Wong has been impressed by Chan's fierce commitment which has earned him a regular place in South China's starting lineup this year.

 And the diminutive left-winger did not disappoint his mentor when he produced the best performance of his life to score in the 15th, 48th and 81st minutes.

South China forward Ricky Cheng Siu-chung, back after injury, scored the other goal for the Caroliners, who were following up their Senior Challenge Shield triumph last December.

With one hand already on the league championship trophy - they face Instant-Dict in the title play-off on May 30 - the Caroliners are threatening to claim a clean sweep of trophies.

'I thought I had a chance of scoring a goal but never three,' said an ecstatic Chan who has brought his goal tally to six this season, and whose skill and vision has quickly made him a favourite among a growing legion of fans.

'I wasn't credited with a goal in the Senior Challenge Shield when it was considered an own goal, so to have scored three goals today in a Cup final was beyond my wildest dreams,' the former St Joseph's student said.

Chan, who has been a professional for four years, is a product of the Hong Kong Sports Institute scholarship scheme.

'[Chan] Chi-hong has been working very hard and he deserves his moment of glory like this. I always had faith in him,' Wong said.

Golden could have changed the outcome with a little more luck.

 Scottish striker Lee Bullen missed a sitter in the 15th minute and before his team had time to reflect on his failure, Chan struck his first goal on the counter-attack.

South China goalkeeper Werner Kooistra's huge goalkick found Au Wai-lun who headed it down for Chan to score from inside the box.

South China were on the defensive in the opening exchanges but Golden were just unable to sustain the challenge as the Caroliners fortified their defences and refused to budge.

It was all South China after the break and within three minutes Chan had added a second goal, with a classic combination of speed and vision.

He created space inside the left channel, cut to the right and then planted a low left-foot shot past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Chan Hing-wing.

Chan was just centimetres away from his third in the 54th minute when he chipped the ball against the crossbar after another enterprising left-wing run.

Not long after, Cheng gave the Caroliners a three-goal cushion in the 75th minute as Golden's hearts sank.

 Bosnian striker Alen Bajkusa pulled the ball back for Cheng to drive the ball home from just inside the penalty area with a shot which took a slight deflection off former Manchester United and England defender Mike Duxbury.

Chan then completed his hat-trick day with another clinical finish. Bajkusa played a one-two with Chan before blasting a powerful shot which was partially blocked by Golden's burly 'keeper, but Chan pounced on the rebound and fired home with his trusty left foot.

It was now all over for Golden but they still plugged on and were rewarded with a superb consolation goal from striker Carlton Fairweather, whose 25-metre drive in the last minute gave Kooistra no chance.

'We didn't have an awful lot of luck,' Golden president Simon Wan Chi-lok, admitted.

'Lee Bullen could have easily scored in the opening 15 minutes. If we had scored first, the pressure would have been on South China. It didn't help when we lost Marlon [Van Der Sander] before the break because of a pulled thigh. We tried but it wasn't enough.' South China: Werner Kooistra; 6-Koo Kam-fai, 5-Aurelio, 2-Yau Kin-wai (9-Pedro Xavier 86) , 18-Song Liaoyong; 11-Lee Kin-wo, 13-Chan Chi-hong, 16-Shum Kwok-pui (3-Chan Wai-chiu 86), 4-Ricky Cheng Siu-chung; 8-Alen Bajkusa (20-Leslie Santos 86), 7-Au Wai-lun. Golden: Chan Hing-wing; 18-Leung Shing-kit, 6-Marlon Van Der Sander (13-Carlton Fairweather 39), 5-Mike Duxbury, 3-Tang Chi-ming (10-Otis Roberts 54); 9-Mark Grainger, 12-Chiu Chung-man (2-Pang Kam-chuen 60), 14-Lee Fuk-wing, 16-Lo Kai-wah; 7-Lee Bullen, 11-Anto Grabo.



Hat-trick hero Chan stars in South China's FA Cup