BC Rangers played against Kitchee at Mong Kok Stadium on Wednesday afternoon for the JC Sapling Cup Final. BC Rangers beat Kitchee by 1:0 and won the championship.
BC Rangers played against Kitchee at Mong Kok Stadium on Wednesday afternoon for the JC Sapling Cup Final. BC Rangers beat Kitchee by 1:0 and won the championship.
The match kicked off with both teams on equal footing. Fourteen minutes into the game, BC Rangers made the first assault on the Kitchee goal. Lam Ka Wai delivered a sublime pass, and Kanda Yumemi fired a right-footed shot from a tight angle, only to be parried away by the goalkeeper.
Kitchee retaliated in the 22nd minute, with Igor Sartori launching a cross from the right flank. Poon Pui Hin received the ball and laid it off for Tan Chun Lok, who unfortunately skewed his shot from the penalty area.
In the 26th minute, BC Rangers seized another opportunity when Kanda Yumemi floated a free kick into the penalty box. Sedin Ramic's headed clearance fell short, and Kamigata Yosuke's powerful shot was spectacularly saved by the leaping goalkeeper.
Despite Kitchee enjoying a larger share of possession, BC Rangers' offensive threats were more potent. Chiu Ching Yu Sergio failed to find the net after latching onto Kamigata Yosuke's pass, and later Lam Ka Wai blasted his shot over the bar following another setup from Kamigata Yosuke.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 40th minute when the industrious Kamigata Yosuke sent a pinpoint cross from the left wing. Ibrahim, left unmarked, headed home the cross, handing BC Rangers a 1:0 lead.
Prior to the half-time whistle, Kitchee's Charlie Scott let loose a long-range effort following a pass from Fernando Augusto, but the ball swerved away from the goal. The first half concluded with BC Rangers maintaining their slender 1:0 lead.
In the second half, the determined Kitchee ramped up their offensive efforts. In the 56th minute, Igor Sartori's corner kick from the left almost resulted in an own goal when Kim Minkyu's attempted clearance rocketed towards his own goal, but the goalkeeper made a flying save.
By the 60th minute, it was BC Rangers' turn to attack. Kanda Yumemi's narrow-angle free kick just missed the mark, and a minute later, Kitchee's Sherzod Temirov's long-range shot failed to trouble the goalkeeper.
As the match neared its conclusion, Kitchee launched wave after wave of attacks, but were stifled by BC Rangers' staunch defense. In the 85th minute, Walter Junior's ambitious long-range effort sailed over the bar, and subsequent crosses from Jantscher Jakob were expertly dealt with by the goalkeeper.
In the end, BC Rangers held onto their 1:0 lead until the final whistle, outplaying Kitchee to secure their triumph in the JC Sapling Cup championship.