Kitchee ready to defend FA Cup title with clash ag

Gunning for back-to-back FA Cup triumph, Kitchee will step up to the plate and defend its FA Cup crown by taking on Lee Man in this year’s FA Cup quarter-final. The exciting battle will take place in Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground on Sunday afternoon and kick-off time is set for 2:30pm. While Kitchee might have come up just short against Tianjin Quanjian in the AFC Champions League group stage on Wednesday night, the team nevertheless performed admirably, thus players’ confidence should not be affected. Defensive lynchpins Helio Goncalves and Fernando Recio have been bothered by injuries recently but veteran defender Kim Dong Jin has always been ready when called upon and should ease Kitchee’s pressure on the backline. Midfielder Lam Zhi Gin believes Kitchee’s encouraging displays in the AFC Champions League have greatly bolstered team morale and should lift the team’s spirit ahead of the FA Cup fixture. “Witnessing how my Kitchee teammates have put up such gutsy performances in the AFC Champions League is truly inspiring. As the reigning FA Cup winner, we will of course be gunning for a victory this weekend, hoping to get off to a good start in this year’s competition,” Lam expressed. “Without a doubt, we know Lee Man is a quality side and needs to be taken very seriously. However, I also believe that from Kitchee’s perspective, it will be more important for us to focus on ourselves, make sure we bring our A-game on match day and play up to our own potential.” Striker Alessandro Leonardo insists while Kitchee might have performed quite well recently, it remains imperative that the team stays guarded against Lee Man to avoid any possible mishap. “Everyone knows Lee Man has a lot of quality players in their lineup, such as the red-hot Stefan Pereira and our old teammate Matt Lam. I am sure every single one of them will be fired up when playing against Kitchee, hoping to prove themselves,” explained the towering striker. “With that in mind, we must be total switched on in knockout competitions such as the FA Cup, as a split second of lapse of concentration can send us crashing out of the competition.”