KOWLOON CITY (Interstat) — Paulinho Souza and Flavio Tico gave Hong Kong Rangers a two-goal lead in the first half, but Kowloon City rallied after the break and Nikola Popovic scored in stoppage time to force a 2-2 draw on Friday in Hong Kong Premier League play.

Souza put Rangers ahead in the 7th minute, converting the game’s first clear chance and setting the visitors on course for a strong start. Tico made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute, finishing a first-half spell in which Rangers made the most of their attacking opportunities. The goals came around a pair of bookings, with Kowloon City’s Chiu W. cautioned in the 11th minute and Rangers’ Antenor Junior booked in the 22nd minute. Kowloon City made an early substitution in the 27th minute as it tried to change the flow of the match.

Kowloon City used Kwok Chun-Nok in the 27th minute, Mikael in the 46th and Law C. in the 60th as it sought a way back. Popovic, who played the full match, was booked in the 61st minute. Kowloon City pulled a goal back through Chen Ngo-Hin in the 65th minute. Chen played 30 minutes in the match and gave the home side renewed hope. Rangers made a double change in the 68th minute, replacing Tico and Ma C. Rikelmi came on for Kowloon City in the 82nd, and Ho C.J. came on in the first minute of stoppage time. Popovic then scored in the third minute of stoppage time to level the score. Tsang Kam-To was booked in the sixth minute of stoppage time as Kowloon City completed its comeback.

Souza finished with one goal while playing the full match for Rangers. Tico scored in 68 minutes before being substituted. Popovic had one goal and a yellow card while playing the full match for Kowloon City. Chen scored in his 30-minute appearance. Souza’s goal came in the seventh minute and he remained on the field for the full match. Tico’s goal came in the 23rd minute before he was replaced in the 68th. Popovic’s yellow card in the 61st minute preceded his stoppage-time goal. Chen’s goal in the 65th minute came during a 30-minute appearance. The goals arrived in a sequence that saw Rangers take a 2-0 lead before Kowloon City pulled one back and then found the equalizer deep in stoppage time. The late goal capped a second half in which Kowloon City pressed for a way back into the match and finally broke through.

The draw leaves Hong Kong Rangers 0-2-1 in this competition and 0-4-1 across all competitions. Kowloon City is 1-3-2 in the competition and 2-4-2 across all competitions. Rangers had entered the match after losses to Lee Man Warriors, North District, Lee Man Warriors and Tai Po. Those defeats included a 4-2 home loss to Lee Man Warriors, a 1-0 home loss to North District, a 2-0 home loss to Lee Man Warriors and a 3-1 home loss to Tai Po. Kowloon City had beaten North District and Sha Tin, drawn with Tai Po and lost to Eastern District, Eastern AA, Kwoon Chung Southern and Lee Man Warriors in its previous league matches. The result kept Rangers without a win in league play and gave Kowloon City a point after trailing by two goals.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Kowloon City 2, Hong Kong Rangers 1. Interstat’s ELO system had given Kowloon City a 71.2 percent probability to win. Kowloon City was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 4 went under the over/under line of 3.5.