Nanyue Ancient Post Road Network, compiled from "Nanfang +"
From 1979 to 2024, the Provincial-Hong Kong Cup has accompanied fans into its 45th year.
On the evening of January 31, the first leg of the 42nd Provincial Hong Kong Cup kicked off at Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong, a traditional competition that restarted after five years and ignited the passion for football in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
In the first leg, the Hong Kong team playing at home played well and finally defeated the visiting Guangdong team 2-0. The second leg will be played on February 7 at the Yuexiushan Stadium in Guangzhou.
Leave the suspense to the second round
In this game, the Guangdong team sent 9 Meizhou Hakka players in the starting lineup, as well as Xiao Zhi and Liang Xueming from Guangzhou Shadow Leopard. The Hong Kong team is based on players who participated in the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Soon after the opening, the Hong Kong team took advantage of the home field to take the initiative in the situation, while the Guangdong team focused on defense. In the 11th minute, Hong Kong's Chan Siu-kwan opened the scoring with a world wave. Pan Peixuan rewrote the score to 2-0 in the second half.
Guangdong also created some chances in front of goal, but their ability to grasp them was weak and they failed to score.
Guangdong coach Zhou Sui'an said that the two teams contributed a tense and fierce game. Hong Kong players are in the middle of the season, while Guangdong players are in the preparation period of the season, and there is also a lack of high-quality warm-up games, so the Hong Kong team has performed better in terms of rhythm and fitness, and the Guangdong team's ability to seize opportunities needs to be improved.
Leading the team to compete in the resumption of the Hong Kong and Provincial Cup, Zhou Suian feels that both places attach great importance to it, and Hong Kong has also done a very good job in organizing the competition, "When we return to the home stadium, we will also warmly receive the Hong Kong team." The number of seats at Yuexiushan Stadium is larger, and I believe that the atmosphere will be more enthusiastic in the second leg. ”
Hong Kong coach Anderson said there was a lot of support from the fans, the players played hard and passionately, and everyone played well. After a period of growth, the team can continue to put pressure on the opponent on the pitch, play a good game, and hopefully the team will continue to grow.
Fans look forward to a "football year"
The Hong Kong and Provincial Cup returned, and more than 5,000 spectators poured into the Mong Kok Stadium, which can accommodate more than 6,000 people. Zhu Jianwen rushed to Hong Kong from Guangzhou with his friends early to witness the moment of the resumption of the provincial-Hong Kong Cup.
Zhu Jianwen (left).
Zhu Jianwen's son Zhu Haiwei is also a professional player and also represented the Guangdong team in the 41st Provincial and Hong Kong Cup. In 2018, Zhu Jianwen went to the Hong Kong Stadium to cheer for his son, although his son did not participate in the competition this time, he still chose to watch the game on the spot.
"The atmosphere this time is much warmer than the previous one, and everyone may be looking forward to the return of the Provincial and Hong Kong Cup. Zhu Jianwen said that in the previous years, he and a Hong Kong friend visited each other at home and away, which became an annual agreement. After the suspension of the Provincial and Hong Kong Cup, they haven't seen each other for a few years, and this year they finally got together again because of football.
Mr. Su, a Hong Kong fan, began to watch the Hong Kong Cup in the 80s of the 20th century, when he was only in his teens. Growing up, he often went to the Provincial People's Stadium in Guangzhou to play away games with the Hong Kong team.
"This year, Hong Kong's football atmosphere is very good, the team continues to achieve good results in the Asian arena, and the hot atmosphere of the Hong Kong and Provinces Cup has returned. Mr. Su said that many years ago, the competition in the Provincial-Hong Kong Cup was fierce, and later with the rapid development of football professionalization in the mainland, the strength of the Guangdong team was obviously superior, and the game lost suspense. In recent years, Hong Kong football has improved rapidly, while the overall strength of Guangdong players has declined, and the competition between the two teams has also become fierce again.
In this year's Provincial and Hong Kong Cup, the Guangdong team returned to the Yuexiushan Stadium, the home of the first event. Mr. Su said that he had never watched the provincial-Hong Kong Cup at Yuexiushan Stadium, the "holy land" of Guangdong football. This is a rare opportunity, and you must experience it.
"It's the Spring Festival soon, and I'm looking forward to having a 'football year'!" Mr. Su said.
The Greater Bay Area Football League is being planned
Deng Huanhuan, vice chairman and secretary general of the Guangdong Football Association, said that the provincial and Hong Kong cups were suspended due to the epidemic in the past few years, and both sides hope to resume this traditional event as soon as possible.
In the process of preparing for this event, the two sides overcame the difficulties of holding the Asian Cup at the same time, and tried to draw elite soldiers to participate in the competition.
Finally, with the efforts of all sectors of society, this traditional football tournament, which is loved by the public, was successfully resumed.
It is reported that the substitutions for this event are also 6 times per team, the purpose is to hope that more players can stand on the field of this traditional event. At the same time, the tournament also includes the veteran competition and the women's provincial and Hong Kong cups, which not only enrich the content of the event, but also reflect the meaning of inheritance.
For the home games of the Guangdong team in this tournament, the tickets have been carefully designed to show the strong historical heritage of Guangdong and Hong Kong, and the shading elements show the integration of sports and humanities between the two places. The home games will feature live chorus, lion dance and dragon dance performances representing Lingnan culture before the match, at halftime and after the game.
"We hope to make some extensions on the basis of inheritance, and focus on the culture of southern Guangdong inherited by the two places, give full play to the characteristics of the traditional competition of the province-Hong Kong Cup, and contribute to the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Cheng Zhiwen, the leader of the Guangdong team of the 42nd Provincial Hong Kong Cup and vice chairman of the Guangdong Football Association, said.
Cheng Zhiwen revealed that although the Provincial and Hong Kong Cups have been suspended in recent years, football exchanges between the two places have not stopped. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Youth Football Tournament has been held for many years, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Football League is also being planned, and it is expected to officially start this year.
(The original article was published in "Nanfang +", reporters: Peng Bo, Chen Chen, Yang Qi, collected and edited by Nanyue Ancient Post Road Network.) If copyright and other issues are involved, please contact Nanyue Ancient Post Road Network. ）