TSW Pegasus squandered a gilt-edged chance to win the first leg of their Canbo Senior Shield tie as they were held by visitors Kitchee to a disappointing 1-1 draw at Yuen Long Stadium yesterday.
In a match they were totally dominating in front of 1,500 fans, midfielder Chan Ming-kong made an error in the second half after Jaimes McKee had given Pegasus an early lead. From a safe position outside the box, Chan headed the ball back to his goalkeeper, but an alert Jorge Tarres surged in to steal the ball and beat the goalkeeper with a powerful drive.
With almost 20 minutes left, Pegasus still had chances to get back in front, especially after Kitchee were down to 10 men following the dismissal of Chan Man-fai in the 79th minute for a second booking.
But winger Lee Hong-lim, who flew back specially from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Friday night after playing for Hong Kong in the opening match of the Long Teng Cup, midfield powerhouse Manoel Santos and Lucas de Lima all missed good chances.
Coach Chan Hiu-ming seemed far from happy, but was confident his side would make amends in the second leg at Tseung Kwan O on Thursday. 'We successfully stopped Kitchee from playing their passing game, while at the same time we were able to create many chances,' the coach said. 'On these two points, I must pay tribute to my boys.
'The mistake was not uncommon, and I have seen many top-class players commit similar errors before. We need to put that behind us now and keep focused in order to beat Kitchee in the return leg, about which I am very confident.'