On Wednesday I went to the Hong Kong Premier League match between Eastern and North District at Mong Kok Stadium. The visitors won 4–1. Goals and highlights are available in the onTV Sports review.

Eastern are the oldest¹ of the current Premier League clubs. They have been champions of Hong Kong five times: four times before the Premier League was established (1955–56, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95) and once after (2015–16). Eastern have also won the FA Cup seven times, including the last two editions.

This season, things have gone rather badly. In the AFC Champions League Two, Eastern lost all six matches with an aggregate score of 2–30. They were beaten 7–0 at home by Thailand’s Ratchaburi and 9–0 away by Vietnam’s Nam Dinh. Domestic matters are no better: last weekend Lee Man dismantled Eastern 8–1.

North District had beaten Eastern District 2–0 away over the weekend (I didn’t attend) and came into this match as favourites — something I am still struggling to get used to (and would prefer not to).

The match began without much enthusiasm. It then continued in much the same spirit. North District monopolised possession and tried to manufacture danger from wide areas. The forwards and wingers spent long stretches offside, as if the offside law had been quietly repealed. Eastern saw little of the ball and defended in a tidy mid-block. North District’s first shot on target arrived roughly twenty minutes in. Eastern did not manage one at all.

Towards the end of the first half, Eastern briefly came to life. In one incident, North District centre-back Paez gave an opponent a nudge in the back inside the penalty area. It looked like a penalty to me, but the referee kept his whistle down, and VAR agreed. Then, in the 40th minute, the hosts scored. After a largely unnecessary corner, Eastern’s Spanish import Gondra found himself completely unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box and headed the ball across goal. Japanese forward Okubo finished from almost on the goal line. It was, annoyingly, a very good goal.

North District equalised before half-time — also from a corner. Arboleda’s delivery was met by Samuel Granada, who outjumped Gondra, hero of the previous episode.

Immediately after the break, the Sheung Shui side went ahead. Villalobos delivered the ball into the area, where it drifted out towards the edge of the box. Paez nodded it back towards the penalty spot. Eastern defender Callum Hall reached it first and appeared to be attempting a first-time clearance. He did make contact first time — that was the only part of his design that worked. The sliced clearance flew straight back towards the six-yard box, where Wong Ho-yin (North District) and Almazan (Eastern) attempted to shoot simultaneously. Neither connected: Almazan swung and missed; Wong went down when that swing caught his leg. Wong collapsed in visible agony, but play continued and was stopped only after a prompt from VAR. Following a review, the referee pointed to the spot. Granada struck firmly into the right corner. Cassaro guessed the right way — but guessing, as it turned out, was not enough.

North District continued to control the match, though for a while they struggled to convert that control into chances. Midway through the half, Kayke David pressed aggressively and forced Lau Kwan-ching into a loose pass, which Weverton intercepted. The Brazilian drove into the box and went down under Cassaro’s challenge, earning another penalty. Granada aimed for the same corner again, but this time Cassaro got down well and gathered the ball cleanly.

A couple of minutes later, Arboleda won the ball in midfield from Lau Kwan-ching (the referee ignored a gentle shove in the back) and attempted to lob Cassaro, only to find the crossbar.

In the 73rd minute, North District’s persistence in the press finally paid off. Arboleda blocked a pass from Leung Chun-pong in midfield, Villalobos collected the loose ball, went clean through on goal, and finished past Cassaro, who was caught halfway between decisions.

Two minutes later, Weverton made the scoreline definitive. Cassaro punched clear from a corner. Kayke David struck a fierce half-volley from the edge of the box. Okubo Yu cleared the ball off the line, but Weverton was first to the rebound and finished spectacularly with a scissor kick.

In the remaining minutes, Eastern’s defenders lost the ball several more times in the build-up, but the Sheung Shui side lacked precision in the final action. 4–1 — a comfortable win for North District, who have now firmly established themselves in the top three.

It was a bit chilly. I had two beers.