Fortis FC suffered a 3-0 defeat to Kuwaiti heavyweights Al Qadsia SC in their AFC Challenge League Group C opener at the Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium in Kuwait on Saturday.
The Bangladesh Football League side conceded a penalty in the 18th minute after Japanese defender Norki Akada needlessly brought down an Al Qadsia forward inside the box in an off-the-ball incident. Hamza Khabba converted from the spot to give the hosts the lead.
Fortis struggled to recover, but thanks to goalkeeper Sujan Perera, they kept the Kuwati side at bay for the rest of the half.
Al Qadsia, however, doubled their advantage in the 72nd minute when Ayoub Lakhdar finished off a pass from Khabba. Ahmed Boudi then completed the scoring in the 90th minute, finding the net from inside the box to seal a comfortable victory for the Kuwaiti side.
Fortis had reached the group stage after beating Kyrgyzstan's Muras United 1-0 in the preliminary round. They will now look to bounce back in their next match against FC Goa, who suffered a 1-2 defeat against Regar TadAZin the opening match of the group earlier Saturday.