Hong Kong, China met up with Guangdong in Hong Kong Stadium on Wednesday night for The 43rd Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup (2nd Leg.). Guangdong beat Hong Kong, China by 2:1.
The hosts started brightly, with their first meaningful attack coming in the 9th minute as their striker Lau Ka Kiu intercepted a stray pass and unleashed a powerful drive from the edge of the area, forcing the Guangdong keeper into action.
The visitors responded immediately, nearly breaking the deadlock when a pinpoint corner kick from Jiang Zhipeng led to a dramatic goalmouth scramble. Yang Yiming's towering header rattled the crossbar, and Behram Abduweli's follow-up effort also struck the woodwork in a heart-stopping sequence.
The match continued to ebb and flow, with both sides creating chances. Hong Kong,China's Stefan Pereira tested the keeper with a long-range effort in the 23rd minute, while moments later, a goalkeeper error presented Hong Kong,China with another golden opportunity, but the strike from Lau Ka Kiu sailed wide.
The breakthrough finally came in the 31st minute when Guangdong's Behram Abduweli latched onto an incisive through ball from Zhang Yudong, coolly slotting home with his left foot to give the visitors the advantage.
Hong Kong,China pushed for an equalizer before the interval, with Stefan Pereira's set-piece sailing over and Raphael Merkies' dangerous cross failing to find a recipient in a promising position.
Guangdong went into the interval with a slender 1:0 lead.
The second half exploded into life immediately after the restart, as Lau Ka Kiu drew Hong Kong,China level with a sublime piece of individual skill. He collected a searching long ball, showed excellent close control to beat his marker, and expertly finished at the near post, making it 1:1.
Both sides traded chances in an end-to-end affair, with Guangdong threatening through Zhang Yujie in the 53rd minute, while Hong Kong,China's Wong Ho Chun Anson’s free-kick effort forced a smart save from the goalkeeper minutes later.
The hour mark saw another close call for Hong Kong,China as Guangdong's Hu Ruibao went agonizingly close with a header from a corner kick.
Hong Kong,China enjoyed their best spell of the match midway through the second half, with Ma Hei Wai coming close with a fierce drive from an acute angle that rippled the side netting.
Wu Chun Ming nearly put the hosts ahead with a spectacular long-range effort in the 76th minute, but the Guangdong keeper produced a magnificent flying save to deny him.
The decisive moment came with just four minutes of normal time remaining. Guangdong's Behram Abduweli displayed excellent wing play to beat his marker before delivering a precise cross that Xia Dalong met with a clinical header to restore their lead.
Deep into stoppage time, drama unfolded as Guangdong's Behram Abduweli saw red after picking up his second booking of the match.
The hosts, now with a numerical superiority, launched a late siege on the Guangdong goal. Yu Wai Lim's searching ball into the danger zone caused havoc in the visitors' backline, but Tsang Yi Hang Ellison couldn't capitalize as his effort from inside the area flew wide of the mark.
In the dying moments, Stefan Pereira's set-piece from the edge of the area was expertly collected by the goalkeeper. At the final whistle, Guangdong emerged victorious with a 2:1 triumph in the second leg, securing the Guangdong-Hong Kong crown with a 3:2 aggregate scoreline.