The 2015 Macau FA Cup draw was held on June 9th. 16 teams entered the 1st round, ten from the 1st division and six via the President Cup. Our correspondent Afonso Pires shares all the facts with you.
The President Cup is a knock out competition among teams from the 3rd and 2nd divisions. The top 6 teams enter in the first round of the FA Cup. In the 2015 edition of the President Cup Macau U-18, Ching Fung, Chong Wa and T.K.K.L. already secured their place, the remaining two will be the winners of the matches between H.S vs Tim Iec and San Kong Meng vs Hong Lok.
Probably the biggest match resulting from the draw is Sporting de Macau vs C.P.K. These two teams are currently battling against each other for the 4th place in the 2015 Macau Elite League and this will add some extra meaning to this game.
FA Cup holders Benfica de Macau will play against Casa de Portugal and last year’s runner-up Monte Carlo will take on Macau U-23. The result of these matches should be rather clear, as Benfica and Monte Carlo face two teams that are now in the relegation zone of the Elite League.
Ka I, currently 2nd in the league, will play against Lai Chi. The latter is on the 6th place, but they have already taken away some points this season from the bigger teams of the top division.
The remaining match between Elite League teams will be Policia vs Chuac Lun, in a clash between two top division teams that are trying to escape relegation.
The last 3 matches are among teams from lower divisions, T.K.K.L. will face the winner of the match between H.S and Tim Iec, Chong Wa will take on Ching Fung and Macau U-18 will face the winner of the San Kong Meng vs Hong Lok draw. That means no matter what’s the result, we will have three teams from lower divisions in the quarter finals of the Macau FA Cup this year.
What can we conclude from this draw? First, it will be impossible to have the same final as last year because Benfica de Macau and Monte Carlo will already meet each other in the semi final, if they win all their matches. It is also interesting to see that there are only two teams left from the 2nd division, Hong Lok and Tim Iec, and they both still need to win the next match in order to qualify for the FA Cup. That means that is possible that all 6 teams that qualify through the President Cup will actually be from the 3rd tier.
All matches will be played between June 18th and 26th.
2015 Macau FA Cup drawing results
