Aden McCarthy starts as Sabah FK claim historic first UEFA Champions League win

Former Kaizer Chiefs player Aden McCarthy played the full 90 minutes as Sabah FK secured their first-ever UEFA Champions League victory with a 2-0 home win over Slavia.

The Azerbaijan champions were responding to a 4-0 defeat by Manchester United on the opening day, but produced a clean-sheet performance to record a landmark result in Europe’s elite club competition.

McCarthy, 22, has established himself as a regular starter under manager Valdas Dambrauskas. Saturday’s match was his second UEFA Champions League appearance after he played twice during Sabah’s qualifying campaign.

Sabah had to negotiate four qualifying rounds to reach the group stages of the competition, with McCarthy featuring in only two of those matches. Since the beginning of the campaign, however, he has secured a place in Dambrauskas’ starting XI and has remained there.

The defender has now played in 10 games overall for Sabah, helping the team keep seven clean sheets.

The victory over Slavia represents a major milestone for Sabah, who had never previously won a match in Europe’s leading club competition.