傑志力爭衛冕高級組銀牌冠軍 八強火併標準流浪

Defending Senior Shield champion Kitchee will face its first hurdle in this year’s competition in the form of BC Rangers. The two sides are due to lock horns in the Senior Shield Quarter-finals on Saturday afternoon and the battle will take place in Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, starting at 2:30pm. After ending its decade-long Senior Shield draught last season, Kitchee is determined to keep the prestigious trophy in Shek Mun this time around. The Blues have started the season red-hot, chalking up four wins and one draw through its first five games of the season, scoring thirteen goals and conceding only three times along the way. BC Rangers, on the other hand, has dropped its opening three premier league games and is currently languishing at the bottom of the league table. While it might seem like the two competing sides are on different levels, it should be noted that BC Rangers did manage to overcome the enterprising Dreams FC in the opening round of this year’s Senior Shield competition, proving that it is indeed a side that should not be written off easily. Centre-back Helio Goncalves vows that everyone in Kitchee colors is determined to retain the Senior Shield trophy. “I heard that BC Rangers might have a new centre-forward joining the team, hence they should be an improved side in theory and we will need to prepare for that, offered the soft-spoken defender. “However, we have also managed to come-from-behind and beat Wofoo Taipo recently and that should be a huge boost to our confidence. Therefore I am fairly confident that we can pick up an opening victory in the Senior Shield this weekend and advance to the next round.” Midfield dynamo Matthew Lam, who helped Kitchee beat Wofoo Taipo last weekend by providing two crucial assists after coming off the bench, insists the Blues will not look down on BC Rangers despite the opponent’s lowly league ranking. “I know there is a difference in the league positions of the two competing sides but we all know anything can happen in a one-off cup-tie,” Lam explained. “As usual, we will go all out this weekend and play aggressively, hope to find the back of the net early, score a few goals and march towards the next round of the competition.”