Ferroviario Beira grabs first win

Ferroviario da Beira grabbed their first win of the group phase after beating Al Merreikh of Sudan in their Group A Day three clash in Beira.

Dayo Antonio scored the only goal on 66 minutes as Ferroviario moved to four points, three shy of leaders Etoile du Sahel, who were held 1-1 at home by Al Hilal of Sudan.

The Mozambican champions deployed a defensive strategy, allowing the visitors to dominate possession and catching them on the counter.

Merreikh saw more possession and twice Ferroviario goalie Willard Manyatera was forced to deny Ramadan Agab in the first half.

In the second half, Ferroviário came stronger and asked the Merreikh defence several questions. Six minutes past the hour mark, Dayo weaved his way past the Merreikh defence to score what turned out to be the only goal of the match.

Two minutes to the end, Merreikh suffered a numerical blow when Alaa Eldin Yousif was sent off after a second yellow card.

Merrikh will host the reverse in a fortnight in Omdurman.

Reactions

Aleixo Fumo (Head Coach, Ferroviario da Beira)

It was a well-played game. We were good at defending especially in the first half, but not superior in attack. At the break, I instructed the players and our performance improved. We are happy with the result and the fans are happy too. Our target remains a place at the next round.

Diego Garzitto (Head Coach, Al Merreikh)

We did everything to win the game. My team was better but the condition of the pitch did not allow us to play our game.  We ended up suffering the goal from a set piece, and my players did not concentrate. We will continue to work for the next match.