Kitchee vs Manchester United July 29, 2013

In the meantime, here's a join statement from Manchester United, the Hong Kong FA (HKFA) and Kitchee FC that explains why today's friendly might resemble a Division Three match from the 1970s.

"The pitch has suffered from torrential rainfall in the last week and has staged a number of games in a very short space of time. Wednesday's matches - Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City v South China - had their kick-offs delayed, only proceeding after being shortened to 40-minute halves.


It took a late goal by Wilfried Zaha, his first for United, to salvage a 2-2 draw against Cerezo Osaka on Friday, when Shinji Kagawa also scored against his former club after missing a penalty minutes earlier. Kitchee FC are also in pre-season and building up to the start of their new campaign at the end of August. They finished second to South China in Hong Kong's first division in 2012/13.

"The weather has continued to present problems for the pitch and the first consideration of both the HKFA and Manchester United has to be the safety of the players in such conditions.

"The club has consulted with the Hong Kong FA and has also taken advice from Kitchee FC. In the absence of any other suitable facility at such short notice, the open session has regrettably been cancelled."

Date, time and coverage: Monday 29 July, 13:00 BST (20:00 local).

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