Dejan Damjanovic, 39, is the top scorer of the Premier League. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)
The time has come. After 14 rounds of the regular season, the Hong Kong Premier League is finally split into the championship and relegation group. Kitchee, Eastern, Pegasus, and Lee Man will play out the title and AFC Cup spots in the upper echelon, while Southern, Rangers, Resources Capital, and Happy Valley will be in the contest of not finishing last.
Arguably, the new arrangement adds indeed some excitement to what has been altogether a rather short and disrupted season. Based on the current league standings, only Kitchee and Eastern have an actual chance to win the championship, and it may come down to the final matchday, when both of them are scheduled to lock horns at Hong Kong Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Football Association has kicked off the public voting for the annual Hong Kong Top Footballer Awards. Fans can nominate one goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders, two strikers, two youth players and one head coach until May 21 via the website of the federation. The result will be announced on June 19 during the online ceremony.
In case they are not frontrunners yet, some of the players still have the chance to make a mark in the upcoming games of the championship and relegation group.
EASTERN vs PEGASUS, Premier League (Championship Group), Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, May 15, 3 pm
Eastern and Pegasus are starting into the new championship group format on Saturday afternoon in Siu Sai Wan. The Flying Horsemen are already six points behind Eastern, so they will rather focus on defending the four-point gap to fourth-placed Lee Man and qualifying for the 2022 AFC Cup. Pegasus just beat Rangers 2-0 last weekend thanks to goals by Law Hiu-chung and Brazilian center-forward Nilson. In the meantime, the situation has not changed much for Eastern: Everything is at stake. If the Blues drop any points, no matter loss or draw, they may hand the title to Kitchee as early as next Wednesday. Coach Lee Chi-kin has undoubtedly one of the best squads at his disposal at the moment, but the team struggled occasionally to make this dominance count. While striker Sandro is still in great form, Lucas Silva has not scored in the last four games. They have also been without Everton Camargo since mid-March.
Pegasus are aiming to finish third and to qualify for the 2022 AFC Cup. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)
KITCHEE vs LEE MAN, Premier League (Championship Group), Mong Kok Stadium, May 15, 5:30 pm
Kitchee and Lee Man will square off on the same day at Mong Kok Stadium. The reigning champions celebrated a 4-1 victory over Southern in their last league game, with Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanovic contributing another two goals, increasing his total tally to 15. He currently leads the top scorer ranking, with Sandro and James Ha already five goals behind. Kitchee will go into the championship group with a three-point lead over Eastern, which gives them a small safety net in case of a slip-up. This could well happen against Lee Man, whose coach Chan Hiu-ming should be motivated to salvage some success after a rather disappointing season. Most recently, the Bees were able to keep a clean sheet against Resources Capital, beating the newcomers 4-0, with Gil scoring a hat-trick. Of course, Kitchee are a slightly different caliber to match.
SOUTHERN vs HAPPY VALLEY, Premier League (Relegation Group), Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, May 16, 3 pm
The Sunday games of the relegation group are scheduled as double headers at Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground. The four teams are within three points, which makes it a very open affair, even though it is unlikely that a team would actually be relegated. But there is still a cash prize of at least HK$200,000 at stake. Happy Valley have just lost 1-2 to Eastern, with the only goal being an own-goal by Lee Ka-yiu. The Greens are also still without Nigerian striker Robert Odu. A few days earlier he still put himself on the scoresheet against Pegasus, but he also could not prevent Happy Valley from losing 1-3 in the end. For Southern it may just come down to players like James Ha at the moment, but in the latest outing against Kitchee he missed the target.
RESOURCES CAPITAL vs RANGERS, Premier League (Relegation Group), Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, May 16, 5:30 pm
Resources Capital will take on Rangers right afterwards, and both teams have literally not much too loose. Coming off defeats against Lee Man and Pegasus respectively, the clubs may want to seek this chance to redeem themselves. With a total of four losses and ten defeats, Resources Capital are the only team in the league that have had no draws thus far, and nonetheless, they sit one point above Rangers in the table.
Happy Valley suffered another 1-2 loss to Eastern. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)
LEE MAN vs EASTERN, Premier League (Championship Group), Mong Kok Stadium, May 18, 8 pm
Tuesday night will see another exciting clash in the Premier League, with Lee Man and Eastern facing off at Mong Kok Stadium. The Blues have won both previous league encounters 3-2, which should be a good indicator for another tight game. Arguably, Eastern are under greater pressure to win so they can keep their title hopes alive until the very last match day, when they take on Kitchee on May 23.
PEGASUS vs KITCHEE, Premier League (Championship Group), Mong Kok Stadium, May 19, 3 pm
May 19 is Buddha’s Birthday and a public holiday in Hong Kong, giving the Premier League the opportunity for a weekday afternoon kick-off. All eyes will be on Pegasus causing a possible upset against Kitchee. Coach Kenneth Kwok has formed a great unity between the players, and if the season would have lasted a bit longer, the Flying Horsemen could have played a role in the title race themselves. No matter their ranking this year, it is hoped that Pegasus would keep Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long as their home base for next season, where they regularly attract a large crowd to the local stadium.
