South China coach Casemiro Mior can smile again. Just 48 hours after trudging off the pitch in the Lunar New Year Cup wondering why the Hong Kong League XI never win a penalty shoot-out, the Brazilian stood proud at Hong Kong Stadium.
The Caroliners lifted the BMA Cup after defeating two-time J-League champions Yokohama F. Marinos 4-3 on penalties after the match ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw at the end of 90 minutes.
Mior can also breathe a sigh of relief for forcing the match into penalties despite having a man sent off late on in the game.
Defensive midfielder Bai He was given his marching orders after picking up his second yellow card for a reckless challenge on Yusuke Tanaka in the 77th minute.
Mior, who days ago coached the Hong Kong League XI to an unsuccessful campaign at the Lunar New Year Cup following penalty losses against Jamaica and then Australia, was delighted with the win.
'We finally got some luck in the penalty shoot-out, which is a nice change. We stood to the challenge despite being a man short and won the penalty shoot-out,' said Mior.
'We got off to a good start when Chan Chi-chong scored that early goal but we made a few mistakes after that. Overall, I am very happy with our performance,'' he said.