Senior Shield: Eastern win Hong Kong season’s first silverware – but celebrating is banned
Victory over Lee Man proves third time lucky for Eastern after losses in the previous two finals
The Eastern head coach, Roberto Losada, issued a no-celebrations directive to his players after they beat listless Lee Man 1-0 to win the Senior Shield on Thursday.
Victor Bertomeu headed the only goal after 32 minutes at Mong Kok Stadium to gain some redemption for Eastern, who suffered painful losses to Kitchee in the 2023 and 2024 finals.
The result was testament to Eastern’s fortitude and sound management, as they survived this month’s loss of four key players, either departed or injured, to control this meeting with the reigning but ailing league champions.
With scant time to recover before Sunday’s crunch league clash with Kitchee, Spaniard Losada said: “Tonight, there will be no celebrations. It is not the time to celebrate, it is time to rest and focus on the next game.”
He acknowledged, nonetheless, that it “felt beautiful” to atone for the previous two finals, and that he experienced flashbacks to 12 months ago, when Kitchee equalised in the sixth minute of stoppage time before winning in extra time.
A sluggish, unimaginative Lee Man rarely threatened to inflict more anguish on Eastern.
