The Red's brave show ended when Lebanon international Mohammad Ali Kassas headed home in the 64th minute to seal their second successive victory in the new AFC competition while for Mukti-joddha it was their second straight 1-0 loss.

The home club's dogged display however drew praise from Nijmeh coach Abd Elaziz Mustafa Abd Elshafi.

"Frankly we were lucky to win after not performing at our best. But I think all credit should go to Muktijoddha who played very good football," said Elshafi after the game.

But he thought the hard surface at the ground had unsettled his charges at times.

"My boys found playing here very difficult to control the ball at times," he added.

Despite the loss Muktijoddha coach Shafiqul Islam Manik was still proud of his team's determination to stick to a pre-match strategy. It was also a vast improvement on their recent league loss 2-0 to Mohammedan.

"I'm satisfied with the way my boys kept to a plan. In fact, I think they played better football than the technically superior Lebanese. Also, injuries prevented me from selecting a full strength team. Hopefully, things will improve in our next game," said Manik.

Muktijoddha, which lost their first away match to Nisa Club in Turkmenistan, will fly to Yemen for another away fixture against Yemen league champions Al Shaab Ibb club on April 7.

In front of a sparse crowd Wednesday's game, as a whole, produced little in terms of chances for the Dhaka giants.

Muktijoddha's Lulenti could have broken the evening's duck after just five minutes of the contest. However, instead of going for precision, the Ugandan striker opted for power. So his right-footer sailed wide much to the relief of the Nemjah goalkeeper Tafeh.

The Reds also wasted another opportunity just the breather.

The home side's first half showing impressed former Bangladesh captain and ace striker Alfaz Ahmed, who was among the 3,000 spectators.

"It was excellent although they looked too defensive," he added.

The second half was a different story as Nejmah, the Lebanon league runners-up, launched waves of attacks from the first minute but the country's number one custodian Aminul Haq was equal to the task.

He pulled off a string of brilliant saves especially to deny Kassas a second goal.

The Muktijoddha keeper dived smartly to his left to keep out the danger. But there was nothing he could after the well-built Lebanese striker settled the issue meeting a cross by Trinidad striker McFarlane from the right-flank.

Yellow cards: Saiful, Rukunu-zzaman (Muktijoddha), Yehya Mohammad Hchem (Nijmeh).

TEAMS
NIJMEH CLUB: Abdo Mohammad Tafeh, Mario Ivankovic, Hussein Ali Dokman, Bilal Cheikh Najjarine, Khaled Ali Hamieh, Mohammad Nabih Halawi, Abass Ahmad Atwi, Moussa Ali Mohammad Hje, Yehya Mohammad Hachem, Mohammad Ali Kassas and Ali Hassan Nassereddine (Enol Edderson McFarlane) (Sarkis Hagop Abajian).

MUKTIJODDHA SANGSAD KC: Aminul, Hasan Al Mamun, Prodip (Lajuk), Papel, Motiur Munna, Biddyut, Saiful (Belal), Kanchan (Tipu), Moni, Lulenti and Ghansa.

Referee: Rizwan Ul Haq (India).