In a thrilling encounter at Tai Po Sports Ground on Saturday (January 11th), hosts Tai Po clinched a hard-fought 1:0 victory over Lee Man in the BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League, securing all three points.

The deadlock was broken after just 9 minutes into the match when Chan Siu Kwan Philip made a penetrating run down the left flank before delivering a precise cutback to Michel Renner. He then expertly picked out Lucas Da Silva, who showed excellent technique to control, pivot, and rifle home with his right foot, sending the home crowd into raptures.

Lee Man nearly responded in the 11th minute through Everton Camargo, who latched onto Samuel Rosa's intelligent pass, but his left-footed effort from inside the area whistled agonizingly wide of the upright.

Tai Po continued to dominate proceedings, and in the 24th minute, set-piece specialist Igor Sartori's delivery found Marcos Santos, whose cushioned header set up Lucas Da Silva for an acrobatic bicycle kick that failed to trouble the goalkeeper.

Tai Po came within inches of doubling their advantage in the 32nd minute when Lucas Da Silva, showcasing his individual brilliance, created space at the edge of the area before unleashing a thunderous right-footed drive that cannoned off the woodwork.

Tai Po took their slender one-goal advantage into the interval.

After the restart, Tai Po thought they had extended their lead in the 51st minute. Igor Sartori's inch-perfect cross from the left found Lucas Da Silva, who expertly guided the ball into the far corner, only for VAR to intervene and rule the striker offside in a marginal decision.

Lee Man, desperate to restore parity, began to assert themselves. A flowing move saw Henri Anier deliver a dangerous cross which Samuel Rosa cleverly chested into Everton Camargo's path, but his effort, after excellent footwork to evade his marker, drifted wide.

The visitors came agonizingly close to equalizing in the 73rd minute when Everton Camargo's perfectly weighted free-kick found Henri Anier, whose powerful header rattled the crossbar.

The end-to-end action continued as Michel Renner burst through the middle for Tai Po but failed to hit the target, before he orchestrated another chance in the 86th minute, surging down the left before finding Lucas Da Silva, whose effort flashed inches wide of the post.

In the dying moments, Lee Man's last-gasp attempt saw Tachibana Ryoya launch a searching ball into the danger area, but Luis Eduardo could only direct his header off target under pressure.

The final whistle confirmed Tai Po’s 1:0 victory over Lee Man, as they secured a vital clean sheet adn all three points in this match.

Tai Po 1:0 Lee Man