Thrashing.

Kitchee 1 (Wang Yang 89′)
South China 4 (Itaparica 40′ (Pen), Alessandro Celin 73′, Lee Hong Lim 81′, Dhiego Martins 90’+7′ (Pen))

Some days can’t get better than this. Even without all the pre-match hype, Kitchee vs South China is always one of the biggest games in the local football calendar. For this match, the build-up was just making this massive game even bigger. Kitchee was let off by the HKFA for fielding an illegal worker for 6 of its games in the league, which triggered a wave of lambasting from the local football scene. Both sets of fans were stirring up support and emotions among and between themselves, and all in all, it was just going to be a massive day. Of course, the title could well be decided today, as South China was leading the league table over Kitchee by just 2 points, so it was a game that neither team could well afford to lose.

As far as the match was concerned, the first 40 minutes saw chances few and far between. Both teams were cautious, with Kitchee having more of the possession and South China happy to soak in the pressure and hit the (soon-to-be-ex) champions on the break. The counter attacks from the Reds were giving Kitchee all sorts of problems, especially since the centreback pairing of (Fulham, QPR and Bradford reject) Zesh Rehman and Fernando Recio were not exactly the quickest of defenders. So the speed merchants like Lee Wai Lim and Dhiego Martins were always going to give them a lot of problems. However, it was Jack Sealy who forced Recio into making an elementary mistake by bringing down the right-back in the penalty box for a penalty. Looking at Recio claiming innocence when he chopped down Sealy clumsily was almost funny. When Itaparica stepped up to take the penalty, I couldn’t really bear to watch as he fluffed his last penalty against Yokohama FC (from the TV replays it turned out that even his teammate Ticao also didn’t bear to watch as he turned his back against the Kitchee goal). But he did hold his nerve and slotted the ball home. After the goal, Itaparica ran towards the South China fans in delight and it was just a great feeling.

The second half was played out at about same pace, with Kitchee still doing the possession without much threat at the South China goal – Yapp Hung Fai was almost a pedestrian in the game, but when he was called upon to stop Jordi Tarres’ shot, he did a great job. That’s the role of goalkeepers – you don’t need to see them for 89 minutes of the game, but in that one minute he’s needed, he’s there to pull a great save off. Kitchee decided to put on Lam Ka Wai and Chu Siu Kei a.k.a. the 720-degree man, who got the nickname because he is famous for doing 720-degree turns on the spot while holding the ball, before releasing the ball back to his defenders, in order to boost the attack. I was slightly worried for awhile because Lam Ka Wai actually has a good pass in him. But it turned out that it gave South China exactly what it needed – lack of midfield defensive punch. Before Lam Ka Wai and Chu Siu Kei came on, the midfield was held up by Matthew Lam who actually had a bit of defensive-mindedness in him. But both Lam and Chu were attack-minded players, so the defensive midfield duties were left to Wang Yang only. It also showed that Kitchee was probably going to do all-out attack at South China. That would be fine if Kitchee’s defense wasn’t as vulnerable. South China had a few real speedy players with them – in particular Alessandro Celin who came on for the injured Itaparica was constantly making a nuisance of himself against Recio and Rehman, and almost made Recio with an egg on his face after robbing him the ball and created an one-on-one chance moments after coming on.

The supposedly bolstered attack from Kitchee wasn’t showing much signs of improvement, and instead it was South China looking dangerous on the counter-attack. The sucker punch came when a Kitchee attack broke down and Lee Hong Lim, who replaced his brother Wai Lim earlier, flew down the right flank and threaded a nice pass to Celin. The Brazilian held the ball well and then unleashed a left-footed shot into the bottom corner with the Kitchee goalkeeper Wang Zhanpeng having no chance whatsoever. 2-0 up with a little over 15 minutes to play. Then in another counter-attack, Dhiego Martins was allowed to run the entire length of the Kitchee half with everyone left in his wake. He was completely unselfish and passed the ball to an onrushing Lee Hong Lim who coolly slotted the ball into an empty Kitchee net with Wang Zhanpeng completely stranded. 3-0 up, and there’s no way South China could crack up at this point. Kitchee did score a consolation goal – a nice goal – through Wang Yang, and even the South China fans were celebrating (sarcastically, of course). Then in a moment of madness, Wang Zhanpeng managed to get himself sent off in injury time, and giving away a penalty at the same time. Dhiego Martins rubbed more salt into the Kitchee wound by scoring the penalty and made the score 4-1.

For the South China fans, it was really just a great day out. The cheering, the gloating, and the banter against the Kitchee fans were just part of the things that made this night a great one. You don’t go to Tseung Kwan O everyday and beat Kitchee 4-1 and made them look so freaking amateur. If this was in England, you’d probably hear chants of “Easy, easy” from the South China fans – and that was how it was like. Now South China just need a point to seal the title, or if Kitchee doesn’t win on Friday against a relegation-threatened Sun Pegasus, then South China would be champions without kicking a ball. For a Red like me, that prospect is mouth-watering. Whatever it is, the title is well within the Reds’ grasp, and I’m sure the players would not be daft enough to throw it away.

4-1 in your cup final! Three in a row, you’re having a laugh!