By Melody Gross 
Benfica won this evening the opening match of the ninth round of the Placard Handball 1 tournament, which ends on Saturday, against FC Gaia, with a margin of 33-24.
With Luis Cruz taking over for Chema Rodríguez, serving punishment after being sent off in the closing moments of a classic FC Porto lost, the Eagles welcomed the young squad from Gai coached by Carlos Resende – Luz’s coach for three seasons – and entered early to make a difference in the teams experience.
Demis Grigoras showed inspiration early on which was reflected in five goals at the end of the first half. The visitors responded and leveled at 3-3, but at an accelerated pace Benfica reached their seven-goal advantage, and despite Benfica’s good rewards. A change of spin by FC Gaia and the three shots by 16-year-old Vasco Costa, which netted the scoreboard, the Reds went through the first half with a 19-12 victory.
In the second half, the consistency of Benfica’s attack allowed the score to expand, however, in the defense chapter, Sergi Hernandez, who entered the last minutes of the first half into the goal until Gustavo Capdeville occupied it, shone with three consecutive saves.
Although Grigoras was Benfica’s most accurate scorer, with six goals, Ander Isquierdo knew how to take advantage of the minutes given him to score four, just like Tadej Kljun and Ole Rahmel. On the FC Gaia side, Vasco Costa scored quite a few goals.