The highlight of the third round was the match between CPK and Ka I on Saturday. Ka I entered as favourite, but was also under pressure because of its first round loss against title holder Benfica. CPK on the other hand are considered as the “outsiders” of this season and had nothing to lose.Eventually, Ka I confirmed the expectations and won 2-1. The first goal was scored by Taylor Gomes in minute 9 with a great shot from outside the CPK penalty area. At the beginning of the second half Ka I scored again in minute 47 through Samuel Ramosoeu. CPK defender Ronald Cabrera lost the ball in a dangerous zone and Ka I striker Ramosoeu knocked in the second goal for Ka I. CPK tried to react and came back into the game after a goal by Leung Tak Wai who substituted Choi Weng Hou a bit earlier. However, right before the CPK goal Ka I also missed a penalty by Christopher Nwaorou. In injury time Christopher Nwaorou from Ka I got his second yellow card and was out.
Monte Carlo was the big beneficiary of the Ka I win since they reached the first spot of the table by beating Policia 1-0 on Sunday. In a tough game in which Policia was without head coach as he got suspended after last week’s round, Monte Carlo only scroed through Chao Wai Hou at the beginning of the second half in a rebound shot by Thiago Silva. Policia only defended and never tried to react outside of their own half.
On Friday Benfica beat the young Lai Chi team by 2-0 with both goals scored by William Carlos Gomes. Benfica dominated the entire game and had another three balls coming back from the Lai Chi posts. Lai Chi tried to defend the powerful Benfica attack and followed a counter-attack strategy, but that wasn´t enough to beat the last season’s champion. This match saw the return of Benfica striker Niki who missed the beginning of the season due to an injury. Goals were scored in minute 34 and 75.
In another game on Saturday, Sporting trashed the newly promoted side of Chuac Lun by 8-1, making this the highest score of the 2015 season so far. The first half ended with the score board at 3-0, with goals by Bruno Brito (9), Ho Man Hou (21) and Alex Sampaio (37). The second half goals were scored by Edgar Silva (55 e 73), Ieong Ka Hong (60), Chan Kin Seng (84) and Gaspard Laplaine (90). Chan Tsz Yeung (61) saved the honour for Chuac Lun. For this match Sporting head coach Jose Maria Pegado left a lot of key players on the bench, such as Tavares, Juninho and Rui Cid.
The third week of the Macau Elite League ended with an important battle for relegation between Case de Portugal and Macau U-23. However, it was an unforgettable game for Casa de Portugal because it was the first win in the Elite League for the 2014 second division champion. Casa de Portugal beat Macau U-23 by 1-0 with a goal scored by Miguel Botelho in minute 52.
Macau Elite League round 3 highlights:
Benfica 2-0 Lai Chi new.tdm.com.mo/c_news/tv_news.php?id=244177
Chuac Lun 1-8 Sporting and Ka I 2-1 CPK new.tdm.com.mo/c_news/tv_news.php?id=244253
Policia 0-1 Monte Carlo and Macau U23 0-1 Casa de portugal new.tdm.com.mo/c_news/tv_news.php?id=244344
Next week will be an exciting week because all big 4 Macau teams will play against each other, Monte Carlo will face Benfica on Saturday, and Sporting will play against Ka I on Sunday. Both matches are unpredictable but Benfica and Sporting have a little advantage for their respective matches. CPK will have an easy game against Macau U-23 on Friday, on Saturday Casa de Portugal and Policia will face each other and on Sunday Lai Chi will play against Chuac Lun, with a predictable win for Lai Chi.
Macau Elite League table and fixtures: offside.hk/macau/
Foto source: www.facebook.com/MacauBolinhaBolao
