Sun Hei booked a place in the championship phase of the Hong Kong League despite dropping points in a 2-2 draw against South China at Mongkok yesterday.
They are second in the table after completing their first-phase matches and have earned the right to contend for the title in the championship phase, which is contested by the top four teams.
Runaway leaders Happy Valley were already guaranteed a place in the next phase, while defending league champions South China, Instant-Dict and Yee Hope will have to fight for the remaining two berths.
Although Sun Hei took the lead twice, they were reined in by the Caroliners both times and had to survive a late scare when Gerry Laterza converted a pass from Yeung Ching-kwong only to be ruled offside.
Sun Hei's coach Cheung Chi-tak was delighted with their achievement, especially as many of his players were injured for the final few matches. 'We started the season well and we played very well in the first eight matches but a number of players, including Dimitre Kalkanov, have been hit by injuries recently,' said Cheung.
'Today, we were forced to make changes to our lineup and there were periods in the game when we looked disorganised.'