AFC Champions League 2: Eastern coach out to change Hong Kong mindset after Philippines win
Noah Baffoe delivers stunning winning goal to give Eastern first victory for Hong Kong club in this season’s AFC Champions League Two
Roberto Losada said Eastern were on a mission to transform attitudes to professional football in Hong Kong, after his team beat Kaya-Iloilo 2-1 in their delayed AFC Champions League Two match in the Philippines on Friday.
Eastern’s victory was the first success for a Hong Kong team in this season’s repackaged second-tier continental club competition, and moved the district side three points behind second-placed Sydney FC, midway through their Group E campaign.
Marcos Gondra’s scorching 28th-minute strike was cancelled out by a penalty from Kaya midfielder Kayishu Yamazaki during first-half stoppage time.
Head coach Losada, who said the victory was a “good gift” on his 48th birthday, made a succession of changes in a bid to regain the ascendancy. And the Spaniard’s tinkering paid off when Noah Baffoe strode forwards to slam a scorching long-range effort past goalkeeper Patrick Deyto.
The young Hong Kong international trio of Ng Yu-hei, 18, Timmy Ma Hei-wai, 20, and 23-year-old Jesse Yu Joy-yin all started for Eastern.
“We have been working for three-to-four years to try to change the path of the club,” Losada said. “In Hong Kong, it is difficult to build-up anything in football, we focus a lot on young players who show by their heart, not from their mouth, that they want to be footballers.
