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Football heavyweights City University (CityU) and Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) have booked their places in next month's Philips Hong Kong Universities League final.

The title-decider will be a rematch of last year's championship clash which HKIEd won in a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw.

At the Joint Sports Centre in Kowloon Tong last Saturday, HKIEd - a team of physical education degree students - showed that fitness counts, as they battled back from a goal down to defeat a skilful Chinese University (CUHK) side 2-1.

Two late strikes from Yeung Kin-wing and Chan Kwong-yu stunned CUHK, who had taken a shock early lead with a 30-metre pile driver from freshman midfielder Tse Tze-chung.

'We had the stamina to chase the equaliser - they seemed to lose energy near the end and that's when we got the goals,' said HKIEd captain Yeung, who scored his team's first goal with just 13 minutes left on the clock.

Chan headed home HKIEd's winner three minutes later.

Superior fitness won the game for HKIEd, Yeung said.

'We train for three hours four times a week, which is more than the other teams,' said the third-year student.

Yeung is confident HKIEd will retain the title.

'We have great coaches - Lai San-cheung is also a Hong Kong national team coach and Li Chun is very experienced. They give us the belief we can win,' he said.

The HKIEd's defence has been a key to their strong performances this season.

In five first-round matches, they conceded just one goal in a 2-1 defeat of Polytechnic University.

But the CityU side can claim to be even more impregnable - Saturday's 2-0 semi-final win over Chu Hai College was their fifth clean sheet in as many Philips league matches this season.

Centre-back Ha Shing-chi and striker Cheung Kwong-hing scored the goals for CityU.

CityU captain Terry Yau Man-hon predicted a tight final on March 1.

'It will be a close match - both teams have a strong defence,' Yau said.



CityU, HKIEd storm into final