In Saturday's (September 27) Senior Shield clash at Mong Kok Stadium, Tai Po and Lee Man finished deadlocked at 2:2 after regulation time, before Tai Po triumphed 3:1 in the penalty shootout to book their place in the semi-finals with a 5:3 aggregate victory.
Tai Po came out of the blocks firing and broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when Weverton Ribeiro dispossessed an opponent in the final third and fed Igor Sartori, whose cross from the left flank was met by James Temelkovski with a clinical header to make it 1:0.
Lee Man responded with dangerous forays of their own, as Tachibana Ryoya whipped in a cross from the left for Baffoe Noah, whose goalbound header was spectacularly parried away by the goalkeeper. Moments later, Tachibana Ryoya beat his marker on the left wing and delivered a teasing ball across the six-yard box, but Baffoe Noah's first-time effort failed to find the target.
Lee Man maintained their offensive pressure, with Wong Wai delivering a dangerous free-kick from the right flank into the penalty area, but luis Eduardo's powerful header from a crowded box sailed over the crossbar.
Tai Po doubled their advantage just before the interval when Nicholas Medeiros latched onto Patrick Peral's through ball and unleashed a strike inside the box that the keeper could only parry, allowing Igor Sartori to pounce on the rebound and slot home, giving Tai Po a commanding 2:0 lead at the break.
Facing a two-goal deficit, Lee Man came out with renewed determination after the restart. Merabi Gigauri tested the keeper with a long-range effort from outside the area, before Lau Ka Kiu delivered a pinpoint cross from the right wing, with Tachibana Ryoya's powerful drive from an acute angle finding only the side netting.
Lee Man's persistence paid dividends in the 61st minute when Baffoe Noah skillfully evaded his marker and charged towards the edge of the box before squaring to the unmarked Everton Camargo, who calmly slotted home to reduce the arrears to 1:2.
The comeback was complete just four minutes later, as Lau Ka Kiu capitalized on a poor clearance to deliver a dangerous ball into the danger zone, allowing Baffoe Noah to power home a header for the equalizer.
Tai Po's fortunes took a turn for the worse in the 69th minute when Daciel Elis was shown a straight red card for denying Baffoe Noah a clear goalscoring opportunity, leaving Tai Pooutfit to battle on with ten men.
With the scores level at 2:2 after 90 minutes, the contest headed into extra time.
Lee Man nearly capitalized on their numerical advantage early in the additional period, as Tachibana Ryoya's precise delivery from the left flank was nodded on by Baffoe Noah, but Wong Wai couldn't apply the finishing touch.
Despite being a man light, Tai Po carved out a golden opportunity when James Temelkovski picked out the unmarked Chan Siu Kwan Philip on the edge of the area, but his right-footed effort whistled narrowly over the woodwork.
Both sides continued to push for a winner. Lee Man's Tachibana Ryoya delivered a dangerous cross for Lau Ka Kiu, whose header was brilliantly saved, while at the other end, James Temelkovski engineered space for himself but dragged his long-range effort wide of the upright.
Tai Po's challenge was further complicated in the dying moments when Chung Wai Keung received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow for a foul on Everton Camargo, reducing them to nine men.
In the final seconds, Lee Man nearly snatched victory when Baffoe Noah's powerful header forced a spectacular fingertip save from the Tai Po goalkeeper. With the deadlock unbroken after 120 minutes, the semi-final berth would be decided from the penalty spot.
In the ensuing shootout, Tai Po's Chan Siu Kwan Philip and Alexandre Dujardin failed to convert, but Lee Man fared worse as Mikael Buratt, Tachibana Ryoya, and Baffoe Noah all fluffed their lines from 12 yards.
When the dust settled, Tai Po emerged 5:3 victors on aggregate to secure their place in the Senior Shield semi-finals after a dramatic victory.