Sun Hei predictably moved to the top of the First Division table by beating South China 1-0 at Mongkok Stadium yesterday, but they were overshadowed by newcomers Citizen, who claimed second spot by wining a madcap encounter against Rangers. The hors d'oeuvre proved tastier than the main course as yet another healthy crowd - officially 2,074 - saw a seven-goal comic-thriller, settled 4-3 in Citizen's favour. Recovering from conceding their habitual early goal, Citizen got the usual two-goal display from Stephen Ambassa as they took a 3-1 half-time lead, had Ghanaian midfielder Yaw Anane harshly dismissed for a second yellow card - another disturbingly frequent occurrence for the feisty Second Division champions - lost Ambassa with a dislocated shoulder, had captain Li Ying-wai sent off from the bench, and striker Ma Shuai ordered off in added time. Fortunately Ma departed having grabbed the winner, his second of the game, in the 86th minute. Having escaped what should have been a second yellow card seconds before his vital goal for what was clearly a deliberate handball, Ma profited from ill-disciplined defending. Two clearances across the face of goal (from Lo Kwan-yee and Jose Ricardo Rambo) wasn't just asking for trouble, it was akin to ringing trouble up and inviting it around for ice cream and jelly. Citizen coach Simon Chan Kong-hing said: 'That was one of the best matches we've played. Of the four games this was the best.' This one was not short of controversy, either. Despite three of the four match officials having the hallowed Fifa status, they somehow conjured up a complete farce in the second half when skipper Li Ying-wai, having been substituted while having treatment for an injury, was allowed back on the pitch moments later by the fourth official. It took five minutes for the match to resume and far longer to resolve. Li, who had been booked in the first half, and was shown a second yellow card when he was finally removed from the field of play, was still unsure afterwards as to whether he had been shown red. Rangers remain a dilemma. Given an early goal - neat headers by Man Pei-tak and Roger Batoum allowing Eder Jose De Lima Ferreira to volley home - they seemed unwilling or unable to stick to a game plan. Adversity seems to be the only stimulus to get this more-than-capable side to focus. Batoum, in the 58th minute, and Eder, with his second seven minutes from time, seemed certain to have claimed a point. 'They had players that wanted to win the game and fought to win the game. They got what they were fighting for,' declared Rangers coach Anilton De Conceicao. In comparison, Sun Hei's win over South China was an anticlimax. Sun Hei claimed the win when Hong Kong international Chu Siu-kei followed in Julius Akosah's 86th-minute shot, a 20-yarder that seemed to bounce viciously in front of the diving Chung Ho-yin.
