A blunder from Happy Valley goalkeeper Fan Chun-yip handed Rangers an equaliser as the two sides drew 1-1 in a Coolpoint Ventilation First Division match at Mong Kok Stadium yesterday.
In yesterday's other match, Citizen were held to a goalless draw by Lanwa Redbull, whose goalkeeper Shi Meng made a number of acrobatic saves to maintain a clean sheet for the Dongguan-based team.
In front of 1,191 fans, Fan (pictured) failed to hold a long ball from Rangers' Chak Ting-fung, leaving Godfred Karikari a simple tap-in for the equaliser.
'This should not happen in a top-flight football match,' said Happy Valley coach Lo Kai-wah. 'It was very frustrating for the rest of the team as we worked hard to get the lead, but because of one player's lapse of concentration, we lost the advantage.'
Valley, coming off a disappointing season, fielded a strong side with five Brazilians, including Tomy Giacomeli, the Hong Kong Footballer of the Year in the 1999-2000 season.
But they looked a run-of-the-mill side until mainlander Chao Pengfei opened the scoring for them 10 minutes into the second half.