Cheng kept in hospital after bruising clash with Rangers
Instant Dict ended their Ericsson League first phase campaign on a disappointing note last night with midfielder Ricky Cheng Sin Siu-chung in hospital with head injuries following his team's surprise 0-0 draw with struggling Rangers.
Cheng was kept in St Teresa's Hospital for observation after requiring four stitches and a brain scan.
The Hong Kong international was stretchered off the muddy Mongkok Stadium pitch in the last minute with blood pouring from a facial wound after being upended by Rangers' new signing Gerald Ambassa.
Ambassa, who for most of his debut was a red card waiting to happen, finally received his marching orders after a rough house performance at the heart of the Rangers defence.
His aerial challenge on Cheng infuriated the Instant bench, who had to be ushered off the field after protesting to match officials.
'It was a very frustrating game. We had the possession but just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net,' said Instant veteran Tim Bredbury, after his team missed the opportunity to finish the first phase eight points clear of the pack.
'We're not making excuses but the refereeing was pretty poor. The Rangers boy has been sent off but he could have gone a lot earlier . . . he got away with a lot tonight before he got sent off,' Bredbury added.
Although Instant enjoyed the lion's share of possession against Rangers, they never looked like repeating their scoreline of last Friday when they defeated the same team 6-1. The sending-off of forward Paul Foster early in the second half hardly helped the Dickies' cause as they worked tirelessly to break down the resolute Rangers' defence.
Instant's best chance came when Bredbury worked a clever one-two with Cheng nine minutes from time only to drill his shot wide with the Rangers goal at his mercy.
Striker Ian Baird, who spent much of the game on the receiving end of Ambassa's tough-tackling, also went close for the Dickies with a crisp volley but Rangers held on for a precious point.
In last night's other game, Happy Valley bounced back from Sunday's 3-1 defeat against Sing Tao with a routine 5-0 demolition of basement club Five-One-Seven.
Paul Wood did the damage for Valley with a well-taken hat-trick while Martin Kuhl and Wu Yiu-kwok added the other goals.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) will soon draft next season's fixtures in a bid to give more flexibility to the clubs and Hong Kong team.
HKFA general secretary Vincent Yuen said there would be more double-headers next season, limiting the match days to two per week.
'The clubs and Hong Kong team will be able to use the other five days of the week for training, friendly matches, international tournaments or exhibitions,' said Yuen.
'And it will be easier for us to find sponsors if we can tell them what we have in advance.' The HKFA have also confirmed the fixtures for the second half of the season. The Ericsson League's second phase will be kicked off on March 12 by the Championship play-off between Instant-Dict and Happy Valley.
It will be followed by a series of double-headers in the next three weeks with the closing match scheduled for early April. The two knockout tournaments - the Viceroy Cup and FA Cup - will be played after the league.
The HKFA are also planning an international tournament featuring Asian national teams and Hong Kong in May.