The Henderson Sapling Cup Final will take place on Wednesday evening, pitting the AFC Cup round of 16-bound South China against newly crowned FA Cup winner Hong Kong Pegasus. With the exciting cup final fast approaching, let us try to break down the final matchup from a numbers perspective, to see if we can come up with any insights on who the eventual winner might be.

Revealing Signs in Sapling Cup Progressions

Hong Kong Pegasus secured the first place in the Sapling Cup Group B and advanced to the semi-final. The young side then went one step further, defeated BC Rangers in the one-off knockout game and punched its ticket for the final against South China. In fact, Hong Kong Pegasus and South China have actually met each other earlier in the Sapling Cup group stage, with the former edging the Caroliners 2:0, setting itself up nicely to claim the top spot in Group B. It should also be noted that Hong Kong Pegasus has kept four successive clean sheets in the Sapling Cup tournament so far, proving that this is a formidable side in both, attack and defense.

Finished as the runner-up of Group B, South China trashed Eastern 3:0 in the Sapling Cup semi-final to nail down a spot in the final. Somewhat different to Hong Kong Pegasus, South China has only managed to keep one clean sheet throughout the Sapling Cup tournament, yet its forwards have shown remarkable firepower in the process. In fact, South China has netted eight goals so far in the tournament, doubling Hong Kong Pegasus’ goal production. There is no denying on South China’s potent attack and Hong Kong Pegasus will be best served to take notice.

Head-to-Head Clashes

In terms of head-to-head clashes, Hong Kong Pegasus and South China have met up four times this season in all competitions, with the former winning three out of the four matches. If one looks at the records more closely, besides dropping the first encounter near the start of the season, Hong Kong Pegasus has chalked up three straight victories against the Caroliners. What is more impressive is the fact that Hong Kong Pegasus have won against South China in both occasions when the two sides have met in cup tournaments (Sapling Cup group stage and the FA Cup quarter-final). It remains to be seen whether the two sides can maintain or break the current trend. 

Key Performers                                                                   

Striker Ryan Griffiths has to be one of the key performers for South China. The Australian forward has bagged two goals in the Sapling Cup this season, as well as finding the back of the net three times over the side’s past four games. Make no mistake about it, Griffiths is one deadly sharp-shooter in the South China camp.

Regarding Hong Kong Pegasus, one needs to look no further than Admir Adrovic for the team’s major threat. The Hong Kong Pegasus striker has scored against South China twice this season and is also riding on a scorching hot scoring streak, with four goals from the team’s five recent games, including one on Sunday’s FA Cup final.