Macau

Benfica Macau lost their premier in AFC Cup Qualifiers

Benfica Macau lost its first ever AFC Cup match against the host team FC Alga. Offside.hk correspondent Afonso Pires brings you the latest news directly from the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

The Macanese side had the first big opportunity of the match: Juary was fouled in the penalty area and the Iranian referee pointed to the spot. But Benfica’s number 10 Cuco missed the shot and one minute later FC Alga took the lead through Russian forward Filatov. In the second half Mirbek scored another one for the hosts, just 3 minutes after he entered the field.

After the match, Benfica Macau coach Bruno Alvares said during the press conference: “It was the first time for Benfica in an AFC competition. For sure, if we have more experience like that we will get a better result. I´m very proud of my team because Macau is a small island and we showed a good image.”

Next Benfica´s match will be against Bangladesh side Sheikh Jamal on Thursday, August 13th. Sheikh Jamal is the most promising team of the group and it will not be an easy match for the “Reds” from Macau”. The foreign duo of Darlington and Darboe is Jamal’s strongest weapon, along with Bangladesh midfielderes Mamunul Islam and Jamal Bhuyan.

Bruno Alvares: “First we need to recover from this match. It will be Jamal’s first game, so they have a physical advantage, but we will try to continue our work and do our best.”

The match will be played at 18.00h local time in Spartak Stadium, Bishkek and be broadcast live via the official AFC website.

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