Guests shaking hands with players
In order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the first round of the “18th Guangdong-Macao Cup Football Match” was co-organized by the Sports Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, the Sports Bureau of Guangdong Province, the Macau Football Association and the Guangdong Football Association. It will be held today (23rd) at the UM Sports Ground.
The game started immediately after the handshake ceremony. The two teams traded offense and defense in the first and second half. The Macau team was chasing closely throughout the game. There was a fierce argument in the midfield between the two teams, but neither team scored a goal. As a result, the two teams ended up with a 0-0 draw within the legal time limit. The two teams were scoreless in the first round and will compete again in the second round at the Jiangmen Sports Center Stadium on November 26 to compete for this year’s Guangdong-Macao Cup. After the first round, the two sides exchanged 12-yard shots to compete for the Memorial Cup. As a result, the Guangdong team defeated the Macau team 4-2 and won the Winner’s Cup, and the Macau team won the Merit Cup. This game was also led by new coach Kwok Ka-nuo from Hong Kong for the first time. He expressed after the game that he was satisfied with the performance of the players. After several training sessions, the players were able to cooperate with the coach’s pre-match arrangements and be tight in defense, but not in attack. Lack of final touch, the players have performed to their expected level. They hope to play the team’s style in the second round and compete for the Guangdong-Macao Cup back to Macao.
Guests attending the handshake ceremony included Zhang Zixuan, director of the Sports Bureau, Lei Jianjun, deputy director-level cadre of the Guangdong Provincial Sports Bureau, Zhong Guorong, vice president of the Macau Football Association, Xie Changjing, chairman of the Guangdong Football Association, Chen Zewu, chairman of the Council of the Macau Sports and Olympic Committee of China, Macau Football Association Chairman Lai Bailing and other sports committee members.
The tournament has been successfully held for 17 times since its inception in 2002. In addition to further strengthening the development of football in Guangdong and Macao, it also serves as an opportunity to exchange skills and promote friendship between the two places.
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