2009-2010 Season: Hong Kong Amateur Football Leagues

Summary of 2009-2010 Season: Hong Kong Amateur Football Leagues

Results also available at FFL, LL, USFHK and YYL websites, respectively.


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Summary of 2008-2009 Season: Hong Kong Amateur Football Leagues

2009-2010 Season: Hong Kong Football Association

Summary of 2009-2010 Season: Hong Kong Football Association


Note: Eastern have declined/decided not to accept promotion to the 2nd Division for the new season 2010-2011. Therefore Lucky Mile, who finished in third place in the 3rd Division "A", will enter the 2nd Division.

Results also available at HKFA website


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Sham Shui Po and Eastern division three playoff match (2009-2010 season)

Unpleasant Incidents During Hong Kong Division Three Playoff Match

Summary of 2008-2009 Season: Hong Kong Football Association

Video Highlights from East Asian Games 2009 Football Final

The following are some video highlights from the East Asian Games 2009 Football Final between Japan and Hong Kong (EAG Match 10 Final).

East Asian Games 2009 Football Final Japan v HK 2nd Half 2 Cautions Increased Tension



HKRef advocates Optimum Officiating. Unfortunately, these two incidents demonstrate that the Referee's officiating did not help in managing the players during the tense gold-medal match.

In the first incident, Japan player #16 survives a fair charge by HK player #16. However, the Referee does not allow play to continue. This causes Japan player #10 to react with anger, be abusive and raise his finger at the Referee. The Referee correctly cautions Japan #10 for dissent.

In the second incident, HK player #16 fouls Japan player #20 and the Referee correctly cautions #16 for a reckless challenge. However, the Referee fails to identify signs of trouble that occur right in front of him, and therefore does not take any preventive measures. First, Japan #20 is angry at HK #16 and stands over him. HK #8 then comes and pushes Japan #20 away. Japan #16 is also angry at HK#16 (for his earlier charge, in the first incident) and also stands over him. But HK #7 comes and pushes Japan #16, and then intimidates him continuously (perhaps because HK #7 knows he is bigger than the smaller Japan #16). Mass confrontation ensues. Eventually, the AR does a good job by coming to help manage the situation. The Referee did not see these actions by the players (that occurred right in front of him) and therefore did not caution any other players. Also, the Referee did not ask the AR for what he may have observed.


East Asian Games 2009 Football Final Japan v HK Penalty Shootout Best View

HK soccer 'needs to strengthen grass roots' (South China Morning Post, Dec 27, 2009)

In the East Asian Games, Japan and North Korea sent their under-20 and under-23 squads, while South Korea comprised mostly second-division players.

"In the final, Au Yeung [Yiu-chung], the under-23 Hong Kong captain, missed the first penalty kick, followed by the four seniors who scored. It was the same story in the semi-final against North Korea," said Kitchee boss Ken Ng Kin who is also a senior official with the Hong Kong Football Association.

The grass roots of the game still doesn't have a firm foundation, and this is what worries Ng.

Kuwait SC AFC Cup 2009 Champions

On Tuesday 3 November 2009, Kuwait Sports Club beat Al Karamah of Syria to win the AFC Cup 2009.

The match officials for the AFC Cup 2009 Final were from Iran.

Match Commissioner: Muzammil Mohammad (Singapore)
Referee Assessor: Salem Saeed Rashed (UAE)
Referee: Masoud Moradi Hasanli (Iran)
Assistant Referee 1: Hassan Kamranifar (Iran)
Assistant Referee 2: Reza Sokhandan (Iran)
Fourth Official: Akbar Bakshi Zadeh (Iran)

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's South China are still getting over their disappointment in losing to Kuwait SC and over the weekend suffered a 2-1 league defeat to local rivals Kitchee.


References:
Kuwait SC Are AFC Cup Champions
AFC Cup final match officials
Classy Kitchee capitalise on Caroliners' AFC Cup hangover

Classy Kitchee capitalise on Caroliners' AFC Cup hangover
SOCCER
Chan Kin-wa
Nov 01, 2009

South China proved they have still not recovered from their AFC Cup heartache after losing 2-1 to Kitchee in the BMA First Division at Hong Kong Stadium yesterday.

The Caroliners' impressive form left them on the verge of reaching the AFC Cup final two weeks ago in front of a patriotic 38,000 home crowd, only to lose 3-1 on aggregate to Kuwait champions, Kuwait Sports Club, in their semi-final clash.

And their misery continued when they lost for the first time in four domestic games as arch-rivals Kitchee, who also beat them in the pre-season Community Shield, outclassed them.

Chan Man-fai opened the scoring for Kitchee in the eighth minute, tapping home Lo Kwan-yi's cross from close range before, 14 minutes into the second half, Chan Wai-ho's own-goal from a scuffed clearance made it 2-0.

Leandro Silva converted a penalty for South China to close the gap in the 73rd minute, but then - when it would have been easier to score - missed a simple, close-range chance with only Sergio Aure, Kitchee's Spanish goalkeeper, to beat.

Kitchee's win took them back to the top of the league on 11 points from six matches - two ahead of South China, who have two games in hand.

Steven Lo Kit-sing, South China's team convenor, was unhappy with the performance of his players.

As was Kim Pan-gon, the team's coach, who admitted the team were mentally tired after the AFC Cup tournament.

"It is very disappointing. We were hoping that they could have recovered quickly after the disappointment of losing in the AFC Cup, but they simply failed to do so," the South Korean said.

"They lacked the motivation to attack and failed to live up to the standards they set in the fine run they had reaching the AFC Cup semi-final."

Kim said the team's attack needed to improve if they were to challenge for a fourth successive league title.

Ken Ng Kin, Kitchee's president, added: "We played some good football with some excellent movement by the players.

"Our passing game is a style of play not seen in domestic football for a long time.

"Before kick-off I said we were not too concerned with the result, as long as we played the game the way we know we can; we certainly did that."

He was disappointed that only 5,442 people watched the game. "We were expecting more for such a big game. Hopefully, we'll attract more against South China next time."

2008-2009 Season: Hong Kong Amateur Football Leagues

Summary of 2008-2009 Season: Hong Kong Amateur Football Leagues


More HK Amateur Leagues to follow.
NOTE: Please feel free to comment/advise on any Amateur Leagues that are missing from this list.

[last updated 09 June 2009]

2009 Hong Kong International Soccer 7’s

Summary of 2009 Hong Kong International Soccer 7’s

Video highlights to follow.

[last updated 06 June 2009]

Media report: McGowan helps Hoops KO rivals (SCMP; subscription required):

SOCCER
Unus Alladin
Jun 01, 2009

A star was born at the HKFC IP Global International Sevens as Celtic striker Paul McGowan lit up the tournament with a dazzling display in a 1-0 final victory over bitter rivals Rangers last night.

McGowan's pace and skill proved too much for the Hoops' Old Firm rivals as he netted the winner in the main competition at Hong Kong Football Club.

Few spectators had expected an all-Scottish final but that's what happened as Celtic, runners-up in this year's Scottish Premier League behind Rangers, got one over their rivals.

And they had 21-year-old McGowan to thank, as the pacy forward turned, twisted and ran through the Rangers defence, hitting the woodwork twice before finally finding the net with a fine finish two minutes into the second half.

McGowan is already making a name for himself, earning several senior appearances with Celtic, including a start against Spanish team Villarreal in the Champions League in December last year.

"Hopefully I can get more starts in the senior team. I have been with the senior squad and I have been training with them and that has benefited me enormously," said McGowan.

"I played in this tournament last year and we reached the final against Aston Villa. Unfortunately we didn't win it but we made up for it this time."

Celtic reached the final after defeating the Australian under-18 team 1-0. Rangers stunned Villa 3-1 in their semi-final to book the Old Firm clash.

Celtic reserve team coach Willie McStay was delighted with his team's performance. "We dominated the first half and in the second half we created chances and we had a great game. We lost in the semi-finals of this tournament in 2007 and then lost in the final last year and now we have won it and I am absolutely delighted," said McStay, who played for Celtic from 1979 to 1987.

"The seven-a-side game is so different. You've got to think, you've got to keep the ball and you have to have good movement and patience. There's no room for error here.

"I think it's a fantastic tournament.

"Some of these young boys have never travelled outside Britain so it's a big experience for them."

McStay said Celtic dominated the match and could have won by a bigger margin.

"We hit the bar and then the post and we had great chances. Hopefully the boys will have a future in the game and that this will be an experience to help them on their way," he said.

Meanwhile, local outfit Golden Rainbow were the surprise winners of the Masters tournament after Yeung Kin-keung scored a superb volley in extra time to give his team a 2-1 win against Football for Life.

It was the second straight upset victory for Golden Rainbow, who also dumped favourites IP Global All Stars 1-0 in the semi-final.

Football for Life beat Southampton 2-1 to earn their place in the final.

Another local club, Citizen, surprised West Ham United to win the Shield final, winning 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw, while Birmingham City won the Plate final against Kitchee 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.