Kitchee in driver’s seat for Hong Kong Premier League title after 3-2 victory over rivals R&F
- Ten-man R&F hit back twice through second-half substitute Giovane but Wellingsson’s late goal for Kitchee makes the difference
- Kitchee can claim their third league title in four seasons if they win their two remaining games
Kitchee are back in the driver’s seat for the Hong Kong Premier League title after a crucial 3-2 victory over 10-man R&F at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground on Thursday.
Second-half substitute Giovane da Silva came close to becoming R&F’s hero after pulling back two goals but Wellingsson de Souza’s third goal for Kitchee with 10 minutes left was the difference between the two teams.
With two games left in a season that restarted last month after the Covid-19 shutdown, Kitchee can clinch their third title in four years by beating bottom sides Southern and Happy Valley. Manager Chu Chi-kwong, though, refused to look too far ahead.
“This is not the right time to say anything,” he said after the match. “In football, anything can happen just like this match, in which we have learned a big lesson. We were complacent after going into a comfortable two-goal lead in the first half. I would need to talk to the boys so that they won’t make the same mistake again.”
R&F, who lost in the FA Cup final to Eastern earlier this week – which cost them a chance to appear in next year’s AFC Cup competition – may now end the season empty-handed after splashing out money.