The Rational Ref | Final day scores in Hong Kong league entertaining yet draw suspicion
The last round of games in the local division saw plenty of thrills and spills, but with them was more than a hint of foul play
The thrills and spills during last weekend's final round of matches in Hong Kong's top two tiers were spectacular, stunning and surprising, with a smidgen of suspicion slung in for good measure.
The Hong Kong Football Association's First Division saw five relegation-threatened teams, separated by a mere three points from one another, battle it out across four matches played simultaneously.
Spectacular and stunning was the total haul of 22 goals - 10 of which were scored in the final 10 minutes - with 16 cautions and four sendings-off. Surprising scorelines with a smidgen of suspicion, however, were the two defeats of professional powerhouses South China and Kitchee.
On paper, it had looked as though Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei and Citizen were the two clubs most at risk of going down because they were up against South China and Kitchee, respectively. But defying the odds, Sun Hei scored in the 80th and 89th minutes to win 4-3 against the new champions and Citizen nabbed the only goal in the 81st minute against Kitchee.
BC Rangers, already safe from relegation, appeared unbothered with their match against Sun Pegasus. Consequently, Sun Pegasus scored five goals without reply within 80 minutes to secure their safety. Perhaps for entertainment, the last 10 minutes saw another five goals, with the final score being 8-2. Relegation fears, therefore, swung to the Yokohama FC (HK) and Wofoo Tai Po match. At 1-1, Tai Po scored in the 90th minute to seemingly stake their claim to safety. But in unpredictable fashion Yokohama scored the equaliser in stoppage time that relegated Senior Shield champions Tai Po.
In the Second Division, Happy Valley, Eastern Salon and Tai Chung fought for the two remaining promotion spots. If all three won their final matches, Eastern would lose out. However of the three, Tai Chung had the toughest match and subsequently lost.
On the face of it, Hong Kong soccer is entertaining and can be interesting to the casual observer. But the perspective is perhaps a little different to those who like to delve deeper below the surface.