Lee Man obliterated Pegasus in their first Sapling Cup game. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)
Last weekend the 2020-2021 season of Hong Kong Premier League started with the first group stage round of the Sapling Cup, offering a highly anticipated glimpse into the quality of the new squads – and it started with two major surprises: Lee Man obliterated Pegasus with a 5-0 victory, while Happy Valley caused an unexpected upset against last season’s runners-up Eastern, suggesting a competitive season could be in the making.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Football Association has announced major changes to the competition formats. With only eight top tier clubs registered this year, officials had to make sure that each club reaches the minimum number of games as required by the Asian Football Confederation. After completion of the usual double round-robin system, in which all clubs face each other twice in a home and away setting, the Premier League will be split into two groups. The top four and bottom four teams will then meet each other for a third time in a championship and relegation round respectively. In addition, the FA Cup will also introduce a group stage in order to boost the number of guaranteed games. The winners and runners-up of the group will directly advance to the semi-finals. The format of the Sapling Cup and the Senior Shield remain unchanged.
The HKFA has also decided on the allocation of the stadiums based on the league ranking of the previous season. Champions Kitchee and runners-up Eastern chose to share the most popular venue, Mong Kok Stadium, while Southern will return to their usual home ground at Aberdeen. As expected, Lee Man will make use of their good season finish and move once again to their preferred stadium in Tseung Kwan O. Meanwhile, Rangers and Happy Valley will host their games in Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground and Sham Shui Po Sports Ground respectively, and newcomers Resources Capital plan to call Tsing Yi their home. Finally, Pegasus appear committed to their re-branding. Club chairman Steven Lo decided to link the team again with Tin Shui Wai, similar to their establishment in 2008. Therefore, they will play their home games in nearby Yuen Long, where the official district team relegated voluntarily to the First Division due to financial problems. Hong Kong Stadium, Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, Kowloon Bay Park, Tai Po Sports Ground, and Tuen Mun Tang Shiu Kin Sports Ground are not listed as regular Premier League stadiums this season, but they may be used for neutral cup match encounters.
As some teams are still struggling to bring in their new foreign signings due to travel and quarantine restrictions, the new season resumes with Sapling Cup matches for now. All games remain behind closed doors, but a small number of fans may be admitted starting from mid-November.
Eastern beat newcomers Resources Capital 5-0 on Wednesday night. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)
LEE MAN vs KITCHEE, Sapling Cup Group A, Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground, Sat Oct 31, 3 pm
On Saturday afternoon, Lee Man and Kitchee will lock horns in Wong Tai Sin, and their encounters in the last season have left the reigning champions with some bruises. The Bees are also still buzzing from their 5-0 win over Pegasus last weekend, when youngsters Chang Hei-yin and Tang Hong-yin added themselves to the scorer list. At the same time, Kitchee celebrated a one-sided victory over Rangers, partly courtesy of defensive mishaps by centre-back Jean-Jacques Kilama. 23-year-old Matthew Orr made clear that he is the player to watch this season, as he bagged his first hat-trick for the team.
RANGERS vs PEGASUS, Sapling Cup Group A, Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, Sat Oct 31, 5:30 pm
Rangers definitely want to do better this time and they may have a very good chance to do just that against the struggling Pegasus team, which was just thrashed by Lee Man. While the Flying Horsemen are still waiting for some of their new signings to arrive in the city, they need to up their game quickly if they have any interest at all in the Sapling Cup this season. Besides Kilama, the Rangers squad featured two more prominent names, as local football veterans Lam Ka-wai and Lo Kwan-yee joined forces again after being dismissed from R&F.
SOUTHERN vs EASTERN, Sapling Cup Group B, Tai Po Sports Ground, Sun Nov 1, 3 pm
On Sunday afternoon, Southern District will take on Eastern. Both teams have just celebrated their first victory in the cup, each beating newcomers Resources Capital. However, this turned out to be a far bigger challenge for the Aberdeeners than the Blues, scoring the match-winning goal for a close 3-2 result only in injury time. In contrast, Eastern dominated Resources Capital, with Everton Camargo scoring a hat-trick and 20-year-old Naveed Khan adding two more goals to the final 5-0 score. Unsurprisingly, The youngster also received the player of the match recognition afterwards.
Matthew Orr scored a hat-trick in Kitchee's first match of the season. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)
HAPPY VALLEY vs RESOURCES CAPITAL, Sapling Cup Group B, Mong Kok Stadium, Sun Nov 1, 5:30 pm
Later that day, the match between Happy Valley and Resources Capital may draw a clearer picture of what to expect from the lower-ranked teams this year. Even though it is unlikely that a club would be forced to relegate at the end of the season, as the FA would like to increase the number of top tier clubs eventually, it will still be a fight over glory not to finish last. Meanwhile, former Manchester United youth talent Charlie Scott is still waiting for his first appearance, as he plans to restart his career with Happy Valley.
PEGASUS vs KITCHEE, Sapling Cup Group A, Mong Kok Stadium, Wed Nov 4, 8 pm
On Wednesday night, Pegasus are facing the difficult task of keeping champions and Sapling Cup title defenders Kitchee at bay. The Bluewaves have currently one of the strongest youth squads in the league and their transition from one of the oldest to one of the youngest sides in the league may soon pay off, as players like Matthew Orr and Chan Shinichi could soon be sought-after.
