bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Jonathan White

Hong Kong Premier League side Lee Man wrote a new page in their history on Wednesday night with a first AFC Cup game and a first win in the competition, beating local rivals Eastern at a drenched Hong Kong Stadium.
“Everything is history. First win, first game. We’ve made history,” Lee Man coach Chan Hiu-ming said after the 1-0 win.
It is a result that puts them in the driving seat and leaves their destiny in their own hands.
On Saturday they meet Taiwan’s Tainan City, who beat Mongolia’s Athletic 220 3-0 in the group J opener at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground earlier in the day, knowing a win puts them in pole position to progress.

“We’ve nothing to lose,” Chan said. “We’re looking forward to the next game. It won’t be easy.”
It will not as Tainan’s 3-0 win proved, where two goals from striker Chen Jui-chieh and an own goal from Athletic 220 substitute Dulguun Batkhishig sealed it.
How to watch Hong Kong’s teams in AFC Cup and Champions League
Eastern now need a helping hand from somewhere. “We have to win the next two games and wait for the results,” said Eastern coach Roberto Losada. “I like a challenge”.
He added that he was proud of his players but the team made mistakes and one of them was the goal that proved the decider.
A loose pass from a Yapp Hung-fai goal kick gave the ball to Lee Man’s Jonathan Acosta and after drawing out the Eastern keeper he squared to teammate Givanilton to slot home.

“If we can score a second it would be controlled and not so stressful,” Chan said. “The players were nervous, it was their first time in the AFC Cup. It will go smoother next game.”
Chan admitted that both sides were not at their best with players either having a month off from playing since the HKPL season ended or jet lagged from playing for Hong Kong in their Fifa World Cup qualifiers in Bahrain before entering the AFC Cup bubble.
It was loose passes that led to most chances, with man of the match Givanilton having the best one to make it 2-0 during the crowd’s 47th minute applause. Lee Man hit the post soon after with Acosta only slightly misjudging his slide rule finish after Givanilton’s footwork on a break from another loose pass by Eastern in their own half.

FT | Eastern 0-1 Lee Man

Lee Man get their debut #AFCCup campaign off to a winning start!#AFCCup2021 | #EASvLMC pic.twitter.com/eghKZjURZF
— #AFCCup2021 (@AFCCup) June 23, 2021

Givanilton could and should have done better on another counter, scooping wide, before Eastern’s Wong Wai should have scored from a Naveed Khan cross.
Then Lee Man went up the other end and nearly scored themselves as Acosta headed flush against the bar from Givanilton’s cross.
It was a spirited game despite the downpour, with a frenetic start to both halves and plenty of chances throughout.
Government gives fans green light to attend AFC Cup group matches
Still neither side looked like recognisable as either the team that took the Hong Kong Premier League title race down to the final day, before losing to Kitchee, or the team that finished the season in the best form – winning all three games in the Championship group.
At one point with the clock winding down, Eastern hit a corner straight out of play before the resulting goal kick was shanked out for a throw.
These teams had already met three times already this season – Eastern winning both regular season games 3-2 and Lee Man winning in the postseason Championship Group

FT Eastern 0:1 Lee Man.
Crucial 3 points for the Bees over the toughest opponent in group, ok paper. This Eastern is without most of their main players, though arguably IMO are in best conditions than Lee Man, without a forward in this campaign will hurt.#AFCCup #hkfootball pic.twitter.com/TpE9924EKo
— christie L. (@christie_1122) June 23, 2021

Such familiarity may not yet have bred full contempt between the rivals but there were a few tasty challenges, with Eastern’s Wong Tsz-ho and Lee Man’s Wong Chun-ho going in the referee’s notebook.
The crowd saved their loudest boos of the night for Eastern’s Clayton getting away with leaving one on Kim Seung-yong and just getting a warning from the referee – most of the 2,326 who had braved the rain at So Kon Po seeming to want a card shown.
Everton – off the bench for Eastern despite not being fully fit – tried to win a penalty but the referee was having none of it. It would have been an injustice had it been given and scored.
There are two games left for both in this AFC Cup group stage with Lee Man now the favourites to top the group and take the spot in the inter-zone play-off semi-finals. Their history is in their own hands.


New Indonesia head coach John Herdman calls on team to turn disappointment into success

Japanese legend Kazuyoshi Miura ready to ‘make a contribution’ to his new J-League team at 58

Age is just a number: Japanese football player Kazuyoshi Miura signs for J-League team at 58

Hong Kong’s footballers could play China, Chinese Taipei regularly in new league

Asian Football Confederation (AFC)

AFC Cup: Lee Man make history to leave Eastern needing help

Lee Man’s Ngan Lok-fung and Eastern’s ’ Wong Wai battle it out during the AFC Cup at Hong Kong Stadium. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Lee Man’s in action with Eastern Long during the AFC Cup 2021 at the Hong Kong Stadium. 23JUN21 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

Lee Man’s Acosta Jonatan (no.10) in action with Eastern Long Lions’ Jared Lum (no.22)during the AFC Cup 2021 at the Hong Kong Stadium. 23JUN21 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

How to watch Hong Kong’s teams in AFC Cup and Champions League – Now E, Now Sports 3 schedule, fixtures, tickets

Eastern’s Clayton dribbles away from Lee Man’s Manu Bleda in a Hong Kong Premier League clash. Photo: HKFA

Government gives fans green light to attend next week’s AFC Cup group matches

The lower level of Hong Kong Stadium will be closed off for next week’s AFC Cup to avoid any possible contact between the fans and players. Photo: Winson Wong

2021 AFC Cup draws of group D and J. Eastern Long Lions and Lee Man of Hong Kong are in the same group as only four teams in the region.

Spectator stands at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground are already separated from the playing venue. Photo: Felix Wong

AFC Cup: Football Association wants group matches to be attended by fans

Fans returned to domestic football matches recently and the Football Association now wants spectators to be allowed to watch the AFC Cup. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Sports Commissioner Yeung Tak-keung (left) and Hong Kong Football Associaiton chairman Pui Kwan-kay. Under the coronavirus crisis, Kitchee versus BC Rangers, a Sapling Cup match, is held closed doors at the Tseung Kwan O Football Training Centre. 11FEB20

Plenty of empty seats at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground for the FA Cup first-round match between BC Rangers and Eastern Long Lions. 07MAR20 SCMP / Felix Wong

Kitchee loss to Lee Man takes Hong Kong Premier League title race to Eastern game

Eastern’s Sandro in action against TSW Pegasus in the Hong Kong Premier League. Photo: HKFA

Southern's Zesh Rehman battles with Happy Valley's Mikael Severo in the Hong Kong Premier League. Photo: HKFA

AFC Cup postponed so Hong Kong Premier League can finish

Everton Camargo of Eastern challenged by Wong Ho-chun of Lee Man in the Hong Kong Premier League. The teams will meet in the AFC Cup in June after it was postponed to allow the HKPL to finish. Photo: Hong Kong Football Association

Sport

Hong Kong

Football


‘The players were nervous, it was their first time in the AFC Cup,’ says Lee Man coach – ‘It will go smoother next game’
All-Hong Kong Premier League meeting decided by Givanilton goal following Yapp Hung-fai error at Hong Kong Stadium



‘The players were nervous, it was their first time in the AFC Cup,’ says Lee Man coach – ‘It will go smoother next game’.


Hong Kong Premier League

The Football Association of Hong Kong, China