AFC Cup: Hong Kong side Eastern need just a draw against Tainan City to reach knockout stage of competition
- Hong Kong side to meet Tainan City of Taiwan on Thursday after beating Lee Man in opening game of three-team group
- Forward Sun Ming-him back in action after serving out suspension
High-flying Eastern Long Lions look likely to reach the AFC Cup knockout stage for the first time as they take on Tainan City of Taiwan in the last group match on Thursday.
The result at Buriram Stadium in Thailand will decide which of the three teams in the group goes through, with Eastern in the driving seat after beating fellow Hong Kong side Lee Man 3-1 in the opening game last week.
Tainan City, who lost their first game to Lee Man 3-1 on Monday, must beat Eastern by a bigger margin if they want to qualify, while Lee Man can only wait and watch.
Although Tainan City head coach Kenneth Kwok Ka-lok refused to throw in the towel, the chance his side of achieving that result appears unlikely, especially with Eastern having more days for recovery and the return of forward Sun Ming-him.
Sun was suspended for the previous game because of his disciplinary record when playing for Tai Po in the AFC Cup two seasons ago, but the Hong Kong international is eager to rejoin his teammates after an impressive Asian Cup qualifiers in India with the national slide.
He started in all three matches and scored in the second game against Cambodia, which Hong Kong won 3-0.
“I am really excited for this game,” the 22-year-old said. “When I was watching the last game from the stands, I really wished I was part of the team and now I can have the opportunity of starting with the team together and I want to help the team qualify for the next stage.”
Head coach Roberto Losada remained cautious, although he did say his side had more recovery time to prepare for the match.
“Right now any team can get through to the next round,” he said at the prematch press conference. “The situation is very complicated but every time you play in the AFC Cup all games are complicated.
“We do expect a tough game [against Tainan] and will have to go like the first game when we fought hard for 90 minutes.”
The coach also welcomed Sun’s return, calling him a very important player for the team.
“We could not use him for the first game even if we were short of players for this competition, hopefully his return can give us something extra,” Losada said.
