AFC Cup: ‘Perfect’ Lee Man beat Athletic 220, Eastern edge Taiwan’s Tainan City
- Givanilton scores two from the bench as group winners sign off with 5-0 win against Mongolia’s Athletic 220
- Eastern finish second after edging out Taiwan’s Tainan City at Hong Kong Stadium
Lee Man made it three wins from three to leave them with a perfect start to their first AFC Cup group stage, beating Athletic 220 of Mongolia 5-1.
Having already gone through on their head to head record after beating Hong Kong Premier League rivals Eastern and Taiwan’s Tainan City the meeting with Mongolia’s Athletic 220 was a dead rubber.
Both teams kept up their recent form though at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground as Lee Man extended their 100 per cent record and left the Mongolians winless.
Goals from Anson Wong Ho-chun and Lee Hong-lim, the latter a penalty, put Lee Man 2-0 up at the half and they did not look back.
A further goal from Lee and a brace from the substitute Givanilton after the interval put a gloss on the scoreline in front of 1,621 fans.
There was time for some history from the other AFC Cup debutants as Naranbold Nyam-Osor headed in to score the Mongolian champions’ first goal in the tournament.
How to watch Hong Kong’s teams in AFC Cup and Champions League
Lee Man coach Chan Hiu-ming rang the changes, with only skipper Jose Angel and Ngan Lok-fung keeping their places from Saturday’s win over Tainan.
Meanwhile, Eastern and Tainan City played out a tight 1-0 encounter at Hong Kong Stadium with the hosts taking the points.
Eastern also rotated, allowing rare starts for Liu Fu-yuen in goal as well as Ma Hei-wa and Lee Cheuk-hin at So Kon Po.
A Jared Lum penalty after 77 minutes settled the scoring and helped Hong Kong’s club rankings for future AFC competitions as Eastern finished second.
Hong Kong Premier League champions Kitchee continue their AFC Champions League campaign against Guangzhou FC in Thailand on Wednesday night.
Lee Man move on to the next stage, a play-off over two legs in September.
