Healthy spectator turnout 'inspired Hong Kong to opening victory'

Hong Kong coach Tsang Wai-chung thanked the 6,000 fans who turned up for the 2-0 win over Taiwan in their opening qualifying match for the East Asian Championship on Saturday and said such healthy attendances could prove a springboard for the local game.

The turnout was in stark contrast to the meagre 91 paying customers who had bothered to attend Thursday's Hong Kong First Division league match between Fukien and Xiangxue Pharmaceutical. 'The fans were a big help to us,' Tsang said. 'Our players gave a determined performance, and I think that's what we need to do to lure fans back to the stadiums.'

The coach was encouraged by his team's performance in their first outing of the qualifying tournament for the inaugural East Asian Championship, but he said they could do even better in terms of creating and finishing chances. 'We basically played to our pre-match plans. But we can still improve the rhythm of our play, by altering when we decide to use long balls and when to build up with short passes,' Tsang said.

'We missed something like six good chances and everything would have been a lot easier if we had taken our chances early on. But it is very tough to create this many chances, especially when the opponents are so defensively minded.'

Kwok Yue-hung, who scored the opening goal and created the second against Taiwan, had said after the match that goals are not something a player can force or it may become a psychological burden. His coach agreed. 'The players themselves know they missed some good chances, so they don't need me reminding them all the time,' Tsang said. 'I don't need to tell them 'it is easier to score by aiming for the top corner', they know that already. They just have to do it on the pitch.'

Hong Kong dominated Saturday's game, attacking from start to finish. They will be hoping for more of the same today when they take on Macau in their second qualifying match.