There is a crisis, seemingly one of confidence, brewing at Hong Kong Football Club with the defending champions once again slumping to a heavy defeat at the hands of Shaheen in Premier League action yesterday.
Slick Shaheen romped to a 7-0 victory at Sports Road to hammer one more nail in Club's sorry campaign which seems all but buried this season. The final rites are a long way off, with the second round in a lengthy three-round season just beginning.
But after yesterday's performance and results so far - they lost 7-2 to Shaheen in the first round - it is hard to see Club mounting a strong comeback. The Premier League title is destined elsewhere - the spoils most probably to be fought between Shaheen, Pakistan Association and Valley in the eight-team competition.
'But it is a long season and there are still plenty of good reasons to play,' said Club's Robert Todd. 'Obviously we need to turn it around. We need to get our match sharpness back.'
It will be a miracle if the champions are able to resurrect their campaign. Last season, they only lost two games in league competition. This time, they have already lost four. There are 13 more league games left for Club. The season will look endlessly long for skipper Pietro Attala and his men.
In contrast, Shaheen are buoyant. They are top of the standings and currently have a nine-point lead over closest contenders Valley who have a game in hand. But they are not taking anything for granted. Even yesterday's romp past Club was greeted with a degree of humility.
'If we had gone down a goal early, the game would have been totally different. We were lucky to get five goals in about 10 minutes in the first half. Their [Club] heads dropped after that blitz,' said Shaheen's Akbar Ali.
