This is a witness history podcast from the BBC World Service.

It's 25 years since Hong Kong sovereignty was transferred from the United Kingdom to China.

In 1985, Hong Kong inflicted an unexpected footballing defeat on China in a World Cup qualifying match.

Ashley Byrne talked to the manager of Hong Kong, Lawrence KKU.

It's the 19th of May 1985, and 80,000 fans were calm as the China and Hong Kong national football teams battled out at the Worker Stadium in Beijing.

Of course, they were pressing us all the way all the time, all this 90 minutes here.

The match was being broadcast right across China and Hong Kong.

Both teams were hungry for victory and the chance to compete in the World Cup in Mexico the following year.

They were just too eager to beat us. They wanted to beat us face zero for zero and then tell everybody how good they are.

Hong Kong team manager, Lawrence Yu, remembers this is the final whistle was blown.

The fans couldn't believe that China had lost to its much smaller neighbour.

They were burning cars and overturning cars and full rubbish pins around outside the stadium.

In 1985, Hong Kong was still ruled by Britain, not China.

So although there was a shared history, there was also a lot of rivalry too.

And tensions had risen following an official British announcement that the colony would be returned.

We have no idea what's happening after 150 years of colonial rule.

We were told that we will go back to China. It's a very mixed feeling.

We are Chinese, we are very happy that we can go back to our home motherland.

But then there were communists and we have a totally different law, different system, different way of living.

The match in Beijing on the 19th of May was actually the second time the teams had met during the qualifying round.

But on that previous occasion neither team had come out on top.

The home game in Hong Kong, we have a draw with China. There's no score, zero, zero.

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