Bishkek: Hosts FC Alga scored a goal in each half to take the early initiative in Group B of the AFC Cup 2016 Playoff Qualifiers as the five-time Kyrgyzstan champions defeated Casa Benfica 2-0 in the opening fixture on Tuesday.
The back-to-back champions of Macau spurned a golden opportunity to take the lead when Alga keeper Ruslan Amirov kept out Jose Martins’ 28th minute penalty before goals from Ivan Filatov (29th) and substitute Mirbek Akhmataliev (65th) sealed the win for the home side.
FC Alga dominated the opening exchanges but despite dictating the tempo of the first-half they were unable to find a way through the Casa Benfica defence.
And they should have been made to pay for their inability to convert their possession into chances when Casa Benfica were awarded a 28th minute spot-kick by Mooud Bonyadifard after the Iranian referee had adjudged midfielder Ildor Amirov had dragged down Juary Soares in the area.
However, keeper Amirov correctly guessed that Martins would shoot right and got down well to keep out the the Macanese midfielder’s shot before Filatov punished Casa Benfica for their profligacy when he volleyed home the opening goal barely a minute later.
Arimov’s counterpart Rui Nibra had to be alert to ensure Tursunali Rustamov didn’t give FC Alga a two-goal cushion to take into the break when the Casa Benfica keeper kept out the midfielder’s angled drive on the stroke of half-time but, as the home side continued their dominance after the interval, the second goal did come midway through the second half.
Having only entered the fray just three minutes earlier as a 62nd minute replacement for goal scorer Filatov, Akhmataliev received possession from FC Alga skipper Pavel Sidorenko before firing his low drive from the left past Nibra and into the bottom corner to seal the 2-0 victory.
The Group B hosts will be looking to build on their opening win when they take on Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Limited on August 15 after the two-time Bangladesh Premier League champions have kicked-off their campaign against Casa Benfica on Thursday.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário