Plan A went accordingly ... now for Plan B: Hong Kong surprise Guangdong 2-0
Hosts take a two-goal cushion going into the second leg of the annual competition celebrating its 40th edition after late show at Hong Kong Stadium
Captain Cheung Chi-yung found the net and promising striker Chuck Yiu-kwok put the icing on the cake as a young Hong Kong soccer side upset Guangdong 2-0 in the first leg of the annual interport clash on Thursday night.
Hong Kong have been on the losing end in the traditional new year tournament for the past four years, but the city has the chance to wrest the trophy back after some encouraging play by the mainly under-23 side at Hong Kong Stadium, watched by a crowd of 5,340.
Cheung stabbed home for the first goal from a goalmouth scramble in the 79th minute after Michael Luk Chi-ho’s corner was weakly punched out by Guangdong goalkeeper Han Feng.
Chuck put the result beyond doubt two minutes into injury time when, coming through on the left flank, his low shot found its target after his initial attempt was blocked. The margin could have been bigger if an earlier header by Chuck in the 88th minute had found its mark.
Interim Hong Kong coach Kenneth Kwok Ka-lok, who took over the coaching duties of outgoing coach Kim Pan-gon last month, had his first taste of football at senior level and must have been encouraged by what he saw, especially in the last 15 minutes.