‘A great night for Hong Kong football’: how South Korea boot camp set up Lee Man’s 5-1 thrashing of Bali United in Asian Champions League
- Man of the match Mitchel Paulissen impresses with double on his debut – but coach says he’s still only playing at ‘70 per cent’
- Premier League side face a daunting clash against defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds in final round of qualifying
Vice captain Ngan Lok-fung has put Lee Man’s 5-1 thrashing of Bali United down to their rigorous preseason boot camp in South Korea as they kicked off their season in stunning fashion.
The Hong Kong Premier League team swept aside their Indonesian visitors in their AFC Asian Champions League qualifier on Wednesday night. A double from Dutch debutant Mitchel Paulissen, and strikes from Gil Martins, Everton Camargo, and Jose Angel, set up an emphatic victory at Hong Kong Stadium.
Lee Man now face a daunting play-off against the defending champions, Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan, in the final round of qualifying on Tuesday in Saitama.
But they will go into the clash full of confidence after an impressive display that was built on the back of a “precious” stint training overseas this summer, with life back to normal following the disruption caused by the pandemic to the last three seasons.
“We did not have any pre-season over the last couple of seasons, and the players had lacked the opportunity of getting to know each other under one roof before the season started,” midfielder Ngan said.
