TEARAWAY league leaders Eastern have the champagne on ice and expect the final whistle in tonight's game with British Forces to signal the start of their title celebrations. Eastern can clinch the Hongkong First Division crown for the first time since 1956 by securing a firmly anticipated victory against the relegation-doomed soldiers at Mongkok Stadium. The team of the year, Eastern had their championship party put on hold when their match with Ernest Borel last week was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch, but are now confident of a landslide victory to settle the issue with a flourish. The Camelpaint Senior Shield champions have notched up 11 goals and conceded none in two previous meetings with Forces. Eastern team manager Peter Leung is convinced their 6-0 league thrashing of the bottom team and a 5-0 Viceroy Cup first-round drubbing gives Forces no chance of creating a sensational upset. A win tonight would give Eastern an unassailable 10-point lead over nearest challengers, Instant-Dict, who have three games left. ''The title is already in our hands. I'm convinced of it. It's a bit of an anti-climax for us because we were all geared up to play Ernest Borel. At least we know that we don't have to wait any more,'' said Leung. Eastern will be without captain Lee Kin-wo after the long-haired winger injured an ankle during the territory's first World Cup warm-up match against Kuwait which ended in a 2-2 draw in Singapore last week. Lee is expected to return in a week's time and there was more good news for him as he was selected in Hongkong's final 22-strong squad for Group D World Cup qualifying matches in Beirut which begin on May 7. Kitchee sweeper Yau Kin-wai, who missed out on the Singapore trip, is back in the squad. The injured pair of South China midfielder Leslie Santos and sweeper Chan Ping-on were both excluded. The South China pair, however, are hopeful of being fit for the ''return'' leg at Seoul in June. Hongkong have drawn Lebanon, India, Bahrain and South Korea. SQUAD Goalkeepers: Chan Sau-yin (Instant-Dict), Chung Ho-yin (Kitchee), Chan Hing-wing (Michelotti). Defenders: Chan Chi-keung, Cheung Kam-wa, Chiu Chun-ming, Lee Wai-man (all Eastern), Wong Wai-tak (Sing Tao), Yan Lik-kin (Instant-Dict), Yau Kin-wai (Kitchee), Chan Wai-chiu (South China). Midfielders: Lo Kai-wah, Yeung Kin-keung, Tam Siu-wai, Lee Kin-wo (all Eastern), Shum Kwok-pui, Chiu Chung-man, (both South China). Forwards: Au Wai-lun (Ernest Borel), Loh Wai-chi (South China), Wong Chi-keung (Ernest Borel), Chan Tsz-kong (Sing Tao), Lee Fuk-wing (South China).
