Buler Rangers opened their account in the Cite Du Louvre Cup with a 3-1 win against Citizen at Mongkok Stadium last night, thanks to a hat-trick from Kitchee reject Dragutin Stevic-Rankovic. The Serbian striker, who was given few opportunities to show his skills at Kitchee, joined Rangers for this final cup tournament of the season. He drew the first blood in the 38th minute through a solo effort and added to his tally in the 66th and 87th minutes after Leung Chun-pong had headed home an equaliser for Citizen in the 64th minute. In the other match, Happy Valley defeated Kitchee 2-0, both goals coming from spot-kicks by Brazilian Clodoaldo De Oliveira in the first half. Rangers and Happy Valley will now meet on Sunday in their crucial second match, with the winners likely to become the eventual champions. Only four teams from the First Division are taking part in the tournament after Xiangxue Sun Hei, South China, HK08 and Lanwa decided not to join the competition for various reasons. A single round-robin will be played by the four participating teams, with the champions collecting a hefty $80,000 in prize money. The second-placed team will receive $40,000, while third place is worth $24,000 and fourth place $16,000.
