Kitchee racked up opening victory in Sapling Cup g

Making its debut in this season’s Sapling Cup on Sunday afternoon, Kitchee went all guns blazing, as the Blues smoked Hong Kong Pegasus 4:0 in the Group B affair, courtesy to an Alexander Akande-double, as well as goals from Alessandro Leonardo and teenage prospect Robert Stamp. Abide by the Sapling Cup regulations, Kitchee coaching staff handed eighteen years-old Sebastian Buddle and Barak Braunshtain their first starts of the season. However, the Blues failed to unlock Hong Kong Pegasus’ defense in the first-half and the game ended 0:0 at half-time. After the game resumed, Kitchee nearly fell behind. Thankfully, goalkeeper Guo Jianqiao stood tall and denied Hong Kong Pegasus forward Igor Nedeljkovic’s rocket shot. On the other end, Alessandro Leonardo capitalized on a Hong Kong Pegasus defensive mistake and found the back of the net, putting the Blues in front 1:0. Moments later, Alexander Akande made a superb solo-run, powered his way into the box before flicking the ball over the Hong Kong Pegasus keeper and into the net. Kitchee was not done and netted again shortly afterwards, as Alexander Akande and Sebastian Buddle teamed up on a slick counter-attack, with the former finishing off the move by firing the ball into the Hong Kong Pegasus goal. The Blues were cruising home at this point. Late in the game, substitute Robert Stamp added his name on to the scoresheet by coolly tapping the ball home, making it 4:0 for Kitchee. Eighteen years-old Robert Stamp, who came on as a substitute and netted his first ever goal as a professional, credited teammate Alessandro Leonardo for easing his burden on the pitch. “It is a dream-come-true for every young professional footballer to score his first ever senior goal,” Stamp said with a huge grin on his face. “However, I do need to credit Sandro (Alessandro Leonardo) for his work on the goal. It is such a great feeling to work with quality and experienced veterans like him, as it makes my life on the pitch so much easier.” “The atmosphere throughout the game was great! Our supporters kept cheering us on and it was vastly different than the youth leagues, with hardly anyone on the stands. This is such a wonderful feeling!” Veteran goalkeeper Guo Jianqiao, who earned a clean sheet on the occasion, spoke about the joy of witnessing Kitchee’s young guns excelling on the pitch. “The young kids worked exceptionally hard today and besides Robbie (Robert Stamp) scoring, Aki (Barak Braunshtain) and Seb (Sebastian Buddle) both played very well. We are all grateful to see that,” Guo reflected. “We played nervously in the first-half but once we settled down in the second-half, fenced off the opposing pressure and found the back of the net on a counter-attack, the complex of the game suddenly swung in our favor.”