Eastern coach Cristiano Cordeiro plays down potential title-decider against champions Kitchee

Eastern coach says the potential title-decider is, for now, simply another league game

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Eastern beat Kitchee in the final of the Soccer Senior Shield earlier this year. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 10:45pm, 27 Feb 2015Updated: 10:49pm, 27 Feb 2015

Eastern coach Cristiano Cordeiro played down their top-of-the-table clash against defending champions Kitchee as the two leading BOCG Life Premier League sides meet at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground on Saturday.

Splashing out on a budget of more than HK$20 million, ambitious Eastern are aiming to clinch the league trophy so they can represent Hong Kong in next year's AFC Champions League qualification play-off.

And they are already halfway to their goal, with Eastern on top of the table with 22 points after nine games.

This may be an important match when we look back at the end of the season, but at the moment it is just a match

Cristiano Cordeiro

A victory over Kitchee, who are two points behind, will be a major boost for Eastern's title ambitions.

Sun Pegasus are tied with Eastern, but have played two more games, while South China are tied with Kitchee, also having played two more games.

Kitchee coach Jose Molina said they wanted nothing less than a victory to keep their title hopes alive.

Kwok Kin-pong will make his Eastern debut. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

But Cordeiro, whose side have beaten the same opponents twice this season - in the league and the Senior Shield final - remained calm.

"This may be an important match when we look back at the end of the season, but at the moment it is just a match," said Cordeiro. "No matter what the result is, both teams are still in the race.