South China escaped with a narrow victory when they edged WoFoo Tai Po 3-2 in a milestone league match at the Tai Po Sports Ground yesterday.
Second-half substitute Yeung Ching-kwong scored the winner from a free-kick in stoppage time to break the deadlock in the first top-flight match ever played at the New Territories venue.
The goal also helped South China move to the top of the First Division standings with 10 points from four matches, although that may be short-lived as second-placed Kitchee, who are on nine points, entertain Happy Valley today.
'We played much better than in our last game against Hong Kong 08, but were a bit lucky as we needed that late goal to clinch the victory,' said South China team convenor Steven Lo Kit-shing. 'But we must give credit to Tai Po as they played an exceptional game to come back from two goals down.'
Despite the victory, Lo confirmed he would press ahead with his plan to bring in new overseas players to replace those who have failed to perform to the expected standards so far.
'We are having talks with a number of overseas players, some of whom appeared in the World Cup finals in Germany this summer,' said Lo.