In the pre heat of Mangkhut the three teams at the summit of Division One continued their 100% start to the season. The first result in on Saturday was that from the men from the land of the rising sun who beat HK Krauts 3-1 through goals from Muneki Imagawa, Masayuki Sakai and Masashige Okamoto (sorry that’s all I have on this particular game!!)
Under the management of Manjeet last season Corinthians barley survived in Division one but under new management they are flying and showed they have the will for the battle as they came from behind to beat HK Scottish 2-1. Stags took a first half lead through Adam Pursani but Sorinthians turned it around in the second half with goals from Reuben Cramer & Amanpreet Mintoo.
It was a seven goal thriller at Kowloon Tsai between DBFC and Soho Spartans with the Lantau boys coming out the victors by the odd goal. On a small bouncy pitch that doesn’t allow flowing football it was Spartans who came out the blocks fast and took the lead from a break away before doubling their lead from a good header off a free kick. DB struck back before another Spartans corner lead to them restoring their 2 goal advantage…..but DB then scored directly from a free kick….3-2 at half time!!
Soho dug in and defended their goal manfully but another free kick 7 min from time levelled the scoreline and ANOTHER free kick led to the DB winner when their winger ghosted in at the back post to secure all three points. Spartans Scorers: Li Yongsen, Rudi Willemse & Felipe Moran / DBFC Scorers: Jordon Brown (3) and Kaffi Harun
Tropics secured their first point of the season in a 2-2 draw after Kyle Wagner and Paul Ryding goals put them 2-1 up against Goodfellas who has led the first half 1-0 from a Louis Man strike. Leading into the final 10 minutes Fellas won a penalty which was converted by Isaac Pyrillis. The day ended on a sour note however as Tropics keeper Mark Mcgleenon rushed out to block the final Fellas attack in the dying seconds (which he did) but ended up with a fractured tibia and a trip to the hospital for a full leg plaster!!
Wanchai Spartans were undone by new boys Bants 1-0 in a tightly contested affair with little between the teams except a Lee Hodgson header in the middle of the first half. Spartans pilled on the pressure in the second half but couldn’t find a way past the Raptors rearguard. After losing their first three games the management duo of Stef Kelly and Pete Soloman are certainly not enjoying life!!
Mes also added further credibility to their title chances as they took apart Shui Wei 7-0. Goals for Mes coming from Will Harvey (2), Chris Delaglasia (2), Viktor Jensen (2) and Massie Kallon. It seems at this early stage that both sides that were relegated from Div 1 last year may be a slight class above most and certain teams will probably already be looking forward to the mid-season split.
In a much tighter contest, Old Speckled Men took on a Vikings side who were looking to avoid a 3rd straight defeat of the season. OSM took the lead through Will Leung and with time running out, Vikings were given a golden chance to salvage a point when they were awarded a last minute penalty. However it was not to be as OSM keeper saved the spot kick helping to earn his side a 1-0 victory (and probably earning himself a free pint in the process).
In another tense game Dragon Valley defeated Samurai Blue 2-1. DV started the better of the two sides and soared in to a 2-0 lead early on thanks to strikes from Matt Mills and Kazu Araki. After some stern words and a re-think at HT, Sam Blue came out determined to make a game of it and got their reward through Ho San Chow. In an end to end encounter both sides had further opportunities but due to a combination of excellent goalkeeping and brave defending; there were no further goals. DV manager graciously admitted after the game that their opponents were unfortunate to end up empty handed after a very well contested match.
Irish eyes were smiling for Legal Head as they saw off MBFC 4-1. Jamie Kelly got 3 of them with the other added by Darragh Keenan. MBFC had taken the lead with a shot from Chao Pang but as the temperature cooled in the 2nd half and with the benefit of some fresh legs, LH and their Emerald Isle attack were able to pull away with this one and make it 2 wins from 2.
Typhoon Mangkhut and the subsequent damage to Kings Park meant that Monday’s games could not take place so KCC Cavs vs Young Guns and KCC Royals vs BOCs will need to be re-scheduled. Fingers crossed for better weather and a full quota of fixtures next week but more importantly that everyone stayed safe during the storm.
