Football returned over the weekend with the eight Hong Kong Premier League teams in action in the final group stage games of the Sapling Cup and fans back in the stands to see who would make the semi-finals. Happy Valley and last year’s losing finalists KC Southern kicked off the restart in front of 349 fans in the sunshine at Siu Wan Sports Ground on Saturday, A dead ball broke the deadlock half an hour in with Happy Valley captain Luciano da Silva heading home a Lai Pui Kei corner. Southern had a chance to level on the stroke of half-time when Matthew Cahill was felled in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Stefan Pereira but he ballooned the ball over the bar. First win in 2021. And Today we need to prepare for the Sapling Cup semi-final. VAMOS! pic.twitter.com/cXx2PnbUZk — Happy Valley FC (@HVFCHKG) February 21, 2021 After going close from another corner, Valley doubled their lead. Chu Wai-kwan added the second just before the hour before chances for both teams as the game wore on. Happy Valley will face Lee Man in the semi-final at Mong Kok Stadium on Wednesday evening after the Bees beat Rangers on Sunday. Hong Kong prepares ‘sports bubble’ in bid to host international football Michael N’dri scored the solitary goal of the game in front of 520 fans at Mong Kok halfway through the first half. His header from a Wong Ho-chun centre proved decisive in the group A encounter. Both teams went down to 10 players in the second half. Lee Man’s Serhii Shapoval was soon followed down the tunnel by Rangers defender Fernando Alcantara, with both sent off for bringing down opponents. The other semi-final, which will take place at Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground on Wednesday night, pits Eastern against defending champions Kitchee. Football is back in hong kong. Lovely Saturday. #hkfootball #siusaiwanstadium pic.twitter.com/3CGhTMvkC0 — Ricardo Rambo (@ricardorambo7) February 20, 2021 Last year’s winners saw off Tin Shui Wai Pegasus on Saturday night, coming out 3-1 winners in their group A encounter in front of 1,191 fans – the biggest crowd of the weekend – at Mong Kok. Matthew Orr opened the scoring inside 10 minutes, nodding in a Dani Cancela cross, but Pegasus pegged them back through a Marcos da Silva strike half an hour later to leave the scores level at the interval. Orr nodded Kitchee in front again on the hour, this time from a Cleiton De Oliveira centre, with Helio Goncalves heading in a late third from a Cleiton free kick. Covid-19 has cost Hong Kong football a year it could ill afford to lose Kitchee’s semi-final opponents Eastern saw off Resources Capital in the weekend’s other game. They had to come from behind at Siu Sai Wan after Resources Capital’s Law Chun-yan slotted home following a set-piece to take a shock lead on nine minutes. Eastern responded quickly with Sandro latching onto a through ball to loft home four minutes later before they went in front on 21 minutes after Everton Camargo crossed for Sandro to steer home. That would prove enough and Eastern, winners of the FA Cup and Senior Shield last season, moved a step closer to the Sapling Cup final.