Lee Man kick off new year with convincing 4-2 win over Tai Po in Sapling Cup
- Three goals in opening 11 minutes settle matters for visitors at Tai Po Sports Ground
- Lee Man coach pays tribute to 39-year-old captain Lee Hong-lim, after strong performance against former club
Three goals in the opening 11 minutes gave Lee Man a much-needed confidence boost on Sunday, as they eased past Wofoo Tai Po 4-2 in the Sapling Cup.
After a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Kitchee in their previous match in the Senior Shield, the current league leaders bounced back to kick off 2023 with a desperately needed win in Group A.
Strikes from Yuto Nakamura, Manuel Bleda and Ryoya Tachibana gave Lee Man the perfect start, and by the time Everton Camargo added a fourth midway through the second half the game was long over as a contest.
Tai Po at least gave the home fans something to cheer about late on, with Paulo Simionato scoring twice, but it did little to change the outcome.
The Sapling Cup remains one of the two last hopes of silverware for the big spenders, who have also been knocked out of the FA Cup, but are tied at the top of the Hong Kong Premier League with Kitchee.
Victory left Lee Man tied at the top of their group with Southern on with 12 points, ahead of Football Club and Sham Shui Po.
Tai Po have proved a tough nut to crack this season, especially in front of their own fans, but three early goals helped the visitors end the encounter as a contest before some spectators had taken their seats.
“We built up a comfortable lead and therefore decided to give some minutes to the young players in the closing stages,” Chan Hiu-ming, the coach, said. “And of course the players were not that aggressive in that stage as they would not risk to get injury. But the match was still under control without any danger of being lost.