Kitchee continues to top premier league table with

Kitchee continued its impressive all-conquering start to the premier league season on Saturday afternoon, picking up a 1:0 victory against Lee Man Rangers through an Alessandro Leonardo goal. The away victory gave Kitchee three more points in the premier league and allowed the Blues to maintain pole position in the premier league table. Despite facing former Kitchee greats Jorge Tarres and Fernando Recio in Lee Man Rangers colors, Kitchee started the game strong and quickly dominated the first half. The Blues broke the game open on the 15th minute, when Matthew Lam’s cross led to a melee inside the box. Alessandro Leonardo pounced on the opportunity and drove the ball home, putting Kitchee in front. Leonardo, Jared Lum and Rufino Segovia all had chances to expand Kitchee’s lead afterwards but could not find the back of the net. Lee Man Rangers came out for the second half in search of the equalizer and nearly scored, as Hui Ka-lok’s shot was timely charged down by Daniel Cancela in the penalty area. Afterwards, Kitchee’s Jared Lum and Sandro both scored but was judged to be offside and the goals did not count. Late in the game, Lee Man Rangers’ Clayton Afonso gave Kitchee a scare by hitting the goal-post with a header. However, the 1:0 score eventually stood towards the final whistle, as Kitchee picked up maximum points away from home. With a hard-fought 1:0 victory away from home, Kitchee captain Lo Kwan-yee admitted the match was a tough grind. “We expected a tough fight from Lee Man Rangers and the victory definitely cost us a lot in terms of energy,” Lo confessed after ninety minutes. “However, this is quite normal as a lot of premier league sides see us as the major rival, placing a heavy load at the back end, making things very tough for us from an attacking point of view. Of course there are still a lot of things that we can improve on but the victory also shows that we are capable of solving problems on the pitch. Midfielder Lam Zhi Gin was used in various positions to start the season but the youngster insists he is happy to play anywhere on the pitch, as long as it benefits the team. “If the coach wants to put me in various positions, then all I can do is to try my very best for the side because at the end of the day, no one knows the team better than the coach,” Lam said. “It is a great feeling to start the season with four premier league victories in a roll. Now we just need to keep this going and march forward.”