Ceres-Negros falls to Malaysia in Game 1 of AFC Cup semis
MANILA – Ceres- Negros Football Club- Philippines suffered a 3- 2 defeat to J o hor Darul Tazim o f Malaysia in the first leg of the 2017 AFC Cup zonal semifinals at the Tan Sri Haji Yunos Stadium in Johor Baru, Malaysia.
Despite the defeat, the Ceres- Negros still has a good chance to advance to the next round if it beats or forces a draw with Johor Darul Tazim in the second leg to be held on May 31 at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City.
Johor Darul Tazim gained the early lead in the match courtesy of a strike by Gonzalo Cabrera in the 18th minute. The Ceres- Negros quickly responded with a hit from Fernando Rodríguez for a 1-1 score.
The Negros Occidental- based squad then took a 2-1 advantage as Bienvenido Marañon fired one from top of the key but the Malaysians tied things up before the halftime break via a Safiq Rahim header.
In the second half, t he Malaysians became aggressive and immediately nabbed a 3-2 lead on a close range shot by Hazwan Bakri. Ceres-Negros had a chance to equalize but the Malaysians tightened up on its defense to hang on to a slim win.
“The third goal was very unlucky but we still have a game to go,” said Ceres coach Risto Vidakovic. “We will go for the kill in the second leg in front of our fans in Bacolod City.”
“We had a lot of chances today but they played really well, too. It’s not easy. We don’t have much experience in this. We’ll see what we can do in Bacolod and it will not be easy for them also,” he added.
Ceres-Negros and Global Cebu Football Club, which locked a 2-2 draw with Singapore’s Home United, are gunning to become the first Philippine- based football squads to move past the zonal semifinals round./