Mikael scored his first hat-trick of the season in the JC Sapling Cup opener as Kitchee earned a thrilling 6-2 victory over RCFC at Mong Kok Stadium on Saturday (September 30).
Kitchee have been paired up with RCFC, BC Rangers, Crownity North District, and Lee Man in Group B in this campaign. The opener saw 3 U22 players including Shinichi Chan, Kam Chi Kin Jason, and Yuen Chun Him named in the starting XI, but it was Junior who made the difference when he broke the deadlock just 8 minutes into the game.
The striker then provided an assist to Mikael to extend the lead before he added his second from the penalty spot in the 40th minute. It would only take 60 seconds for Mikael to complete his hat-trick courtesy of Junior who provided another assist to his Brazilian teammate before Tan Chun Lok converted a sweet fifth before half-time.
Two goals after the break handed RCFC a brief hope but Jakob Jantscher put the game in bed in the 87th minute to make it 6-2 to claim their first group match win.