Kitchee started the season with an away Sapling Cup game versus Lee Man at the Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, which ended in a 0-3 loss.
Kitchee fielded a starting line-up similar to last week's Nike Presents: Kitchee 90th Anniversary Cup, with Sean Tse starting ahead of Baena in the midfield. Shinichi Chan, Sohgo Ichikawa and PH Poon were the starting U22 players.
Both teams took a proactive approach as TC Law sent a cross to Lee Man's box in the 1st minute which was off target. Lee Man immediately replied with an attack which ended in a header that hit the post. A free kick from Charlie Scott in the 13th minute created chaos in Lee Man's box, but Shinichi Chan's shot was safely collected by the keeper.
The deadlock was broken when PH Poon collided with an opponent in the 40th minute, and the referee awarded a penalty to Lee Man. Jose Angel scored from the spot and Kitchee trailed by 0-1 at half time.
Kitchee made two substitutions in the 53rd minute, with Baena and Alex replacing Sean Tse and Matthew Orr. The substitutions made an immediate impact as Gavilan tried to break in the middle, but his shot was blocked by the defenders. Kitchee made two more changes in the 65th minute with Dejan and KY Chang replacing Gavilan and Sohgo Ichikawa. KY Chang scored from Charlie Scott’s free kick in the 69th minute, but his far post effort was ruled out due to offside.
Kitchee then conceded in the 79th minute and at stoppage time again to finish the game 0-3.