Kitchee Continues Premier League Title Chase with

Determined to sustain its chase for the premier league title, Kitchee returned to Mongkok Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the latest fixture in the BOCG Life Hong Kong Premier League. Thanks to goals from Rufino Sgovia and Alexander Akande, the blue side managed to overcome a resilient Glory Sky Wong Tai Sin and returned home with maximum points. After enjoying a mini-break from the premier league grind, Kitchee once again started off the game in an aggressive manner and quickly got rewarded, as Rufino Sgovia’s strike early in the game put the blue side in front. Later in the first half, Sgovia and Alessandro Ferreira both had chances to widen Kitchee’s lead. Unfortunately, Sgovia’s attempt was sensationally stopped by Glory Sky Wong Tai Sin keeper Cheung King-wah, while Ferreira’s shot was cleared away by Li Jian. Kitchee netted another goal shortly after the second half resumed, when Alexander Akande chased down a lovely pass from Alessandro Ferreira before calmly firing the ball home, making it 2:0 for his side. However, Glory Sky Wong Tai Sin managed to cut Kitchee’s lead into half moments later through a Liu Pui-fung goal, making things quite interesting. Both sides turned it up a notch afterwards and traded open chances but somehow failed to add to the score, as the game ended in a 2:1 victory for Kitchee. Rufino Sgovia, who has netted ten goals in ten games since joining Kitchee in January, believes scoring early in the two halves could very well be the key to the victory. “Every time when you score early in the game, the team just becomes more calm on the pitch. I think scoring early in each half laid the foundation for us in today’s victory,” offered Sgovia. “For Kitchee, this is a very important victory. We only have two premier league games remaining. I am confident that we can go ahead, win them all and catch Eastern eventually.” Classy forward Alexander Akande, who netted the game winner for Kitchee on Saturday afternoon, was full of praise for opponent Glory Sky Wong Tai Sin after the game. “We played very well today and no doubt was the better side on the pitch. However, Glory Sky Wong Tai Sin was no walkover at all, as it was a tough victory indeed. The district side has a lot of quality players and they were very dangerous on the pitch. At the end, I think scoring early in both halves proved to be very crucial for us in today’s win,” said the lanky Kitchee striker.