Pre-Game Coaching Change Did Not Stop Kitchee from

An earlier morning coaching change did not stop Kitchee from storming to its fourth consecutive win on Saturday afternoon, as Kitchee visited Yuen Long and nudged past by the home side through a 1:0 victory in the BOCG Life Hong Kong Premier League. Kitchee’s Football Director Alex Chu temporarily took over the coaching reigns for Saturday’s match but the side did not seem to lose a beat on the pitch, as Kitchee stormed out of the gate and immediately tried to apply pressure towards Yuen Long. While the home side was able to threaten the Kitchee defense from time to time, the blue army was pretty much well in control in the first half. However, a combination of missing chances and Yuen Long’s resilient defense meant the blue side had to settle for a goalless draw with the opponent heading into the half time interval. When the game resumed in the second half, Kitchee sent in striker Rufino Sgovia to the pitch, hoping to find the much-needed goal to break the game open. The blue army finally got what it wanted on the 73rd minute, when keeper Wang Zhenpeng’s long goal-kick was smarty chased down by forward Alessandro Ferreira. The latter unleashed a dipping shot that somehow soared into the Yuen Long net. The Hong Kong international’s goal proved to be the eventual match winner, as Kitchee came off the pitch with a 1:0 victory over Yuen Long. Alessandro Ferreira, who bagged the match-winner for Kitchee, admitted Yuen Long pretty much gave Kitchee all it could handle during the match. “Yuen Long Stadium has a rather tight pitch and the opponent was very compact at the back and defended very well, making things very difficult for us,” said the Kitchee sharp-shooter. “Regarding the coaching change ahead of the game, I do not think it affected us that much because we all know the basic playing style of the team. It is all about executing it when it comes to match time.” Centre-back Li Ngai-hoi was relieved to see Kitchee returning home with all three points on Saturday afternoon. “At this point of the season, as long as we claim maximum points from the match, then I am always happy with the performance. Every single premier league point is very important to us at this stage, as we need to continue to apply pressure towards Eastern. We might have made a coaching change prior to the game but the players did not seem to be affected by it too much, given that we have always focused on playing football on the ground.”