Opportunity knocks: Yuen Long have chance to lift first silverware in 37 years
Struggling side, who nearly got relegated to First Division, hope to relive glory days when they face Pegasus in FA Cup final, a trophy Yuen Long won in 1979
It has been 37 years since Yuen Long last lifted the FA Cup and also the last time they won silverware in a domestic competition in Hong Kong.
But now they have the chance to relive the glory days when they take on Pegasus in the FA Cup final on Sunday.
Team spirits are high after a rejuvenation in the second half of the season and the players are ready to fight
No one would have expected the struggling side to reach the finale at Hong Kong Stadium as they only saved their Hong Kong Premier League position in their penultimate league match – a 4-1 win over fellow strugglers Wong Tai Sin in late April.
At one stage, the district club were considered favourite for the drop to the First Division for next season after no wins from their first 15 games of the season. They did not open their winning account until a 3-1 victory over Rangers on January 30.
But things changed a lot in the second half of the season, especially with the arrival of two foreign players – Stefan Pereira and Aleksandar Randelovic, who were making a return to Yuen Long after playing two seasons for Pegasus in 2013.
At stake on Sunday is not only a trophy to complete the season with silverware, but also the opportunity to take part in the play-off for next year’s AFC Cup as one of two representatives from Hong Kong in the regional competition.
