Kitchee Kicks-off 2016 with a Bang by Defeating Ho

Kitchee got off to a flying start in the first game of the new year by defeating Hong Kong Pegasus 2:0 on Saturday afternoon, thanks to timely strikes from Fernando Pedreira and Alexander Akande. Both sides started the match slowly and did not create too many scoring chances early in the game. Despite generating more corner-kick attempts, it took Kitchee more than thirty minutes to come up with its first legitimate opportunity, when Jorge Tarres picked up the ball through a lovely pass from Fernando Pedreira. The Spaniard went one-on-one against the Hong Kong Pegasus keeper but sadly fired his shot wide. The game remained scoreless entering the interval. Kitchee drew first blood of the game on the 63rd minute, when Jorge Tarres’ centering pass found Fernando Pedreira. The latter unleashed a heavy-shot that went straight towards the back of the net, putting his side in front. Kitchee then added another goal on the 80th minute, when Jorge Tarres smartly picked out Alexander Akande in front of the goal-mouth and the lanky striker took care of the rest by calmly slotting the ball home, sealing the victory for Kitchee. The three points saw Kitchee retaining the third position in the premier league table after the epic battle. Goal-scorer Fernando Pedreira spoke about the importance of snatching all three points after the victory over Hong Kong Pegasus. “Hong Kong Pegasus is a quality opponent. They are young, industrious and certainly made things very difficult for us,” the Brazilian commented. “It is always very important for teams to take their chances during an important game and that is what we did today. The first goal enabled the match to open up and that led to the second goal of the game.” Youngster Li Ngai-hoi returned from injury on Saturday by donning a protective face mask and the Kitchee stalwart offered his comments after the final-whistle. “It has been a while since I last played and therefore I am still not quite match-fit, making things quite hard at the beginning of the match. Returning from injury and going straight into a big game is always a high-pressure situation. But I try to turn all that pressure into motivation and I think it is a good thing for my growth as a player,” Li explained. “Capitalizing on our chances is always a key to winning big games and that is exactly what we did today.”