Kitchee Fell Short against South China in Communit

Kitchee came out strong and aggressive against South China in the 2015 Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Cup but was left empty-handed after losing 0:2 against the Caroliners on Sunday afternoon. Kitchee dominated the first-half and had numerous chances to take the lead. However, a slick South China counter-attack saw Manoel Santos opening the score for the Caroliners. Alessandro Leonardo nearly tied the game for the Blue Birds afterwards but saw his delicate chip hitting the South China woodwork. South China doubled its lead in the second-half when Chan Siu-ki’s corner-kick was headed home by Sean Tse, sealing Kitchee’s fate in the process. Midfielder Lam Ka-wai was visibly disappointed after the game and spoke about the turning-point of the match. “I thought we were the better side in the game but defensively, we had trouble dealing with South China’s counter-attack. I am not singling out anyone for responsibility but collectively, there are certainly things that we need to improve as a team,” said the Kitchee attacker. “However, dropping the Community Cup is not the end of the world and I thought we played our attacking style really well and threatened the opposing goal with numerous chances during the match.” Brazilian Fernando Pedreira was a dominant force throughout the game but was left shaking his head after ninety minutes. “We played well in the game, created many chances but simply could not find the back of the net. It is a very disappointing result but that is football,” offered the lanky Brazilian.