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Paul McNamara

Former Kitchee and Eastern midfielder Mark Swainston said he had encountered a “faster and more physical” brand of football since joining Filipino club Kaya FC last year.
Kaya meet Eastern in an AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) game at Mong Kong Stadium on Thursday night.
Eastern won the reverse fixture 2-1 in the Philippines a fortnight ago, after a pair of crackerjack goals from Marcos Gondra and Noah Baffoe crowned a fine counter-attacking display from the Hong Kong side.
Swainston, who missed that match injured, said it was a “special feeling” to return to Mong Kong for a clash with the club where he spent most of the 2022-23 season.
The 24-year-old also acknowledged Eastern have “a stronger team than when I was there”, following the addition of Baffoe, coupled with more savvy overseas signings and the emergence of a clutch of promising local players.

He insisted, nevertheless, that he was now playing his club football in a “more competitive” environment.
“It’s a slightly faster pace, there’s more running and it’s more physical,” Swainston said. “One downside last season was that we beat some teams by significant margins … but against the better teams it’s definitely much more competitive and I could feel the difference straightaway. It’s been a good challenge.”
Swainston was raised in Hong Kong, but born in the Philippines and he has two international caps for the country. A title winner with Kitchee in 2019-20, he featured in five AFC Champions League games last season, when Kaya could not live with the continent’s heavyweights.
They are in a group of two halves in this season’s inaugural ACL2, with Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Sydney FC boasting considerably more wealth and resources than Eastern and Kaya.

“It’s been a very high standard from the start of our first game against Sanfrecce [a 3-0 defeat, but we knew it would be tough,” Swainston said. “We put up a good fight in our two home games, but we want a positive result here. The competition is definitely a step-up [from domestic football], but we can compete and we will show that on Thursday.”
Roberto Losada, the Eastern head coach, said his team would start as favourites for the first time in their Champions League campaign.
“Because we won away, the fans expect we can repeat it,” he said. “I understand that, it’s extra pressure for us … but we are OK with it. If we do a good job, we can get the three points and we are going to fight for that.”
Elsewhere, Lee Man’s faint hopes of progressing in the second-tier competition were comprehensively extinguished after a second-half capitulation against Bangkok United on Wednesday.
The reigning Hong Kong Premier League champions led 1-0 at half-time after Samuel Rosa’s 41st-minute strike deflected heavily off teammate Everton Camargo, and wrong-footed Patiwat Khammai in the hosts’ goal.
Lee Man were worth their lead but they folded following Bangkok’s 67th-minute leveller. Overlapping right-back Nitpong Selanon cut a pass to Richairo Zivkovic, who had no one near him as he sidefooted home from six yards out.
Six minutes later, Zivkovic turned provider, feeding onrushing substitute Wanchai Jarunongkran for a first-time strike beyond Leung Hing-kit.
Leung, playing only his second game for Lee Man following a summer move from Sham Shui Po, was beaten again after Muhsen Al Ghassani outpaced Li Ngai-hoi to slip a low shot past the keeper. Zivkovic fired his second into the corner three minutes into stoppage time.
“Our schedule was tight for the past few weeks, which meant we dropped a bit and that was why the score was 4-1,” Ngan Lok-fung, the Lee Man captain, said.


AFC Champions League 2: teenage Hong Kong star dazzles again but Eastern beaten in Japan

AFC Champions League Two: Hong Kong game won’t stop Eastern going all out against Sanfrecce

AFC Champions League 2: Lee Man claim first point after Tampines Rovers bore draw

Asian Champions League Elite: Yokohama F Marinos lead in eastern zone as Al-Hilal top west

AFC Champions League

AFC Champions League 2: ex-Eastern player says Philippines football ‘faster, more physical’

Marcos Gondra sizes up a pass during Eastern’s away victory against Kaya FC a fortnight ago. Photo: Eastern FC

Noah Baffoe celebrates his winning goal in the Philippines with teammates. Photo: Eastern FC

Samuel Rosa’s deflected 41st-minute strike left goalkeeper Patiwat Khammai stranded. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Lee Man appoint Hong Kong boss Ashley Westwood’s assistant as head coach: sources

Lee Man supporters celebrate their team’s 2023-24 title triumph. Photo: Elson Li

Norman Lee in the middle of Lee Man’s on-pitch party after capturing the title. Photo: Elson Li

Forward Everton Camargo (left) scraps for possession in Lee Man’s ACL2 loss to Nam Dinh. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong footballer’s ‘anguish’ over horror leg-break injury, vows to battle back

Johns has been employed to produce HKFC’s digital content following his injury. Photo: HKFC

Dominic Johns’ teammates react after the tackle that left him seriously injured. Photo: HKFC

Dominic Johns was named HKFC’s player of the year for 2023-24 after scoring five goals in 21 games from the wing. Photo: HKFC

Sport

Football

Eastern take on Kaya FC on Thursday, after Bangkok United score four in last 23 minutes to end Lee Man’s hopes of Champions League progress


Eastern take on Kaya FC on Thursday, after Bangkok United score four in last 23 minutes to end Lee Man’s hopes of Champions League progress.
