# 2022–23 Hong Kong Sapling Cup

The 2022–23 Sapling Cup (named as JC Sapling Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the 8th edition of the Sapling Cup. The competition is contested by the 10 teams in the 2022–23 Hong Kong Premier League. Each team is required to field a minimum of three players born on or after 1 January 2001 (U-22) and a maximum of six foreign players during every whole match, with no more than five foreign players on the pitch at the same time.
Eastern are the defending champions, but were eliminated in the semi-finals. Southern became the champions for the first time after beating Lee Man in the final.
The champions of the Jockey Club Sapling Cup will receive HKD$120,000 in prize money, and HKD$100,000 donation to the champions' specified organization. Meanwhile, the runner-up will receive HKD$60,000, and HKD$50,000 donation to the runner-up's specified organization. In addition, the two losing teams in the semi-finals will receive HK$30,000 while the remaining teams will receive HK$15,000.
In addition, the best U-22 player in each team will receive a prize of HKD$3,000. The most outstanding U-22 player among the selected best U-22 players from each team will receive an additional HKD$5,000 for being the best of all the U-22 players.

## Format

The participating teams were divided into two groups for a double round-robin tournament. Top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals.

## Calendar

| Phase | Draw Date | Date | Matches | Clubs |
| Group stage | 20 August 2022 | 2 September 2022 – 10 April 2023 | 40 | 10 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | 20 August 2022 | 19–20 April 2023 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | 20 August 2022 | 20 May 2023 at Mong Kok Stadium | 1 | 2 → 1 |

## Fixtures and results
### Group stage
#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Southern | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 8 | +17 | 19 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 2 | Lee Man | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 17 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 3 | Tai Po | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 9 | |
| 4 | HKFC | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 7 | |
| 5 | Sham Shui Po | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 27 | −21 | 5 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Eastern | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 17 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 2 | Rangers | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 17 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 3 | Kitchee | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 7 | +17 | 16 | |
| 4 | HK U23 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 14 | −10 | 4 | |
| 5 | Resources Capital | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 29 | −20 | 2 | |

### Final
## Final

The final took place on 20 May 2023 at Mong Kok Stadium.
| Southern | Lee Man |
| GK | 25 | Ng Wai Him (U-22) |
| CB | 4 | Kota Kawase |
| CB | 6 | Kessi |
| CF | 7 | Stefan Pereira | | 88' |
| RB | 8 | Lee Ka Yiu |
| CM | 11 | Shu Sasaki (c) |
| CB | 12 | Tomas Maronesi |
| CF | 17 | Jean Moser | | 81' |
| RW | 18 | Mahama Awal |
| CM | 23 | Yung Ho (U-22) | 32' | 63' |
| LW | 28 | Chen Ngo Hin (U-22) | | 81' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 29 | Tse Tak Him |
| CB | 5 | Dudu |
| CM | 14 | Ho Chun Ting |
| LB | 16 | Chak Ting Fung |
| LW | 19 | Jahangir Khan |
| MF | 21 | Hardikpreet Singh (U-22) | | 81' |
| CM | 24 | Ju Yingzhi | | 81' |
| MF | 26 | Chan Hoi Pak |
| MF | 27 | Lo Kam Wang (U-22) | 90+1' | 63' |
| CB | 44 | Lau Hok Ming | | 88' |
| RW | 67 | Seb Buddle |
| Head Coach: ||
| Cheng Siu Chung ||
| GK | 26 | Chan Ka Ho | | 76' |
| RB | 3 | Tsui Wang Kit (c) |
| CB | 5 | Yu Wai Lim | 47' | 64' |
| CF | 9 | Manuel Bleda | 53' |
| AM | 10 | Jonatan Acosta | | 64' |
| LB | 12 | Law Cheuk Hei (U-22) |
| CB | 14 | José Ángel | 90' |
| CM | 18 | Zachary Hui (U-22) |
| RW | 24 | Cheng Chun Wang (U-22) | 61' | 76' |
| DM | 33 | Diego Eli |
| LW | 91 | Gil |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 92 | Tang Tsz Long (U-22) | | 76' |
| LB | 4 | Ryoya Tachibana |
| LW | 7 | Lee Hong Lim |
| RW | 11 | Cheng Siu Kwan | | 64' |
| DM | 16 | Ngan Lok Fung | | 77' |
| RB | 21 | Tsang Kam To |
| AM | 23 | Wong Wai | | 64' |
| DF | 29 | Yu Pui Hong |
| DF | 30 | Liang Ngai Tung (U-22) |
| DF | 37 | Leung Lap Tin (U-22) |
| AM | 44 | Yuto Nakamura | | 76' |
| CB | 94 | Alie Sesay |
| Head Coach: ||
| Tsang Chiu Tat ||
| Player of the Match: Stefan Pereira (Southern) Assistant Referees: Fok Pong Shing Wong Ping Chung Fourth Official: Law Bik Chi | Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Paulinho Simionato | Tai Po | 8 |
| 2 | Jean Moser | Southern | 7 |
| 3 | Stefan Pereira | Southern | 6 |
| 4 | Everton Camargo | Lee Man | 5 |
| 5 | Paulinho | HKFC | 4 |
| 5 | Shu Sasaki | Southern | 4 |
| 5 | Gil | Lee Man | 4 |
| 5 | Sun Ming Him | Eastern | 4 |
| 5 | Juninho | Rangers | 4 |
| 10 | 11 players | 11 players | 3 |

## Awards
### Best U-22 Player

| Prize | Team | Winner |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | Kitchee | Yuen Chun Him |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | Eastern | Chung Hoi Man |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | Lee Man | Law Cheuk Hei |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | Southern | Ng Wai Him |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | Rangers | Lo Siu Kei |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | Tai Po | Kwok Chun Nok |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | HKFC | Timothy Chow |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | Resources Capital | Yip Cheuk Man |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | Sham Shui Po | Tai Ting Hong |
| Best U-22 Player in Each Team | HK U23 | Chan Yun Tung |
| Best of all U-22 Players | Southern | Ng Wai Him |