South China seek spark
South China will be shaking off the ring rust and blowing away the cobwebs when they play their first official game in exactly two months in their FA Cup first-round match against Kitchee tomorrow.
The Hong Kong First Division giants' last competitive game was on February 8 and Brazilian coach Casemiro Mior said although he had felt his chargers were 'raring to go', he was worried they would take to the field at Mongkok Stadium lacking that extra spark because of the long break.
South China's last game was one they would rather forget. They were knocked out by arch-rivals Happy Valley 1-0 in the semi-finals of the troubled League Cup.
'It's really no good for us. It has been too long since we last played in a proper match,' said Mior. 'We had the break because of Hong Kong's World Cup campaign and although we played a number of friendlies, it's never the same as actually playing serious games. That's why I am a little worried about our first game in a long time,' he said.
'Kitchee will be no pushovers. It's a cup tie and Kitchee have given us a tough time in the past. We can expect the same again because they always seem to play well against us.'
Mior shouldn't worry too much as South China have won all four of their matches against Kitchee this season, the last encounter ending in a 5-2 win for the Caroliners in the League Cup. South China have kept themselves 'active' over the long break by playing in four friendlies.
They beat Yee Hope 2-1, the Instant-Dict reserves 2-1, drew with visiting mainland side Tianjin 1-1 and lost 4-2 to Sun Hei.
'Kitchee have already played in the league [they drew with Po Chai Pills 0-0 in the relegation playoffs on Thursday] so they have an advantage over us in some way. I just hope we have the condition to play well throughout the 90 minutes,' said Mior.
The South China coach said new mainland signing Xu Rongsheng would not take to the field tomorrow because his registration would not be processed in time.
Similarly, defending FA Cup champions Happy Valley will also be playing their first game in two months when they take on Po Chai Pills tomorrow.
Hong Kong's top clubs will be in action for the first time since the SAR finished bottom of their group in the recent World Cup qualifiers.
Meanwhile, South China will be sponsored by the Sino Media Group (SMG) during the FA Cup tournament.
SMG refused to say how much the sponsorship was worth, but it was understood that South China players would wear the company's logo on their jerseys. SMG was responsible for organising 'The Records'.