Eastern and Lee Man kick off AFC Cup group stage in all-Hong Kong affair
- Winners in Buriram, Thailand stand good chance of qualification from group J, which also features Tainan City of Taiwan
- Eastern coach Roberto Losada remains upbeat despite a big upheaval of his squad since last month
Lee Man and Eastern Long Lions will battle out in an all-Hong Kong affair as they look to secure a spot in the next round of the 2022 AFC Cup.
The three sides met at the same stage of the regional tournament last year when Lee Man came through after winning all of their group matches, securing a slender 1-0 victory over Eastern.
While last year’s competition took place at the end of the season in Hong Kong, the 2022 edition has been completely different, with the domestic campaign abruptly abandoned in January amid the fifth wave of Covid-19 infections in the city.
“It has been very difficult for us, a very tough time, because of the [social distancing] measures in Hong Kong are very tight,” Eastern head coach Roberto Losada said at the prematch press conference.
“Our players could only keep training by running in the parks. They made a big effort to try to keep fit, but obviously you cannot stay as sharp and fit as you wish when you can’t train on a pitch. It’s difficult and complicated.”
Eastern were also left short with eight of their players selected by Jorn Andersen for Hong Kong’s Asian Cup qualifiers, for which training began in early May.
