Global loses to South China anew in AFC Cup

DOMESTIC CLUB Global FC bowed again to South China of Hong Kong, 3-0, in their Asian Football Confederation Cup Group G fixture on Wednesday at the Mong Kok Stadium in Kowloon.

Cheng Lai Hin ( 40’), Bojan Malisic ( 55’) and Daniel McBreen ( 90+ 2’) all scored for the home side, which kept its unblemished record in the group with five wins and 15 total points while keeping the Philippine club at four points with a 1-1-3 record.

Global’s 3-0 loss was the second in the hands of the Hong Kong club after being drubbed by the latter, 6-1, in their first game at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in February.

“The People’s Club” stood toe- to- toe with their hosts up to the halftime. But it failed to keep in step with its opponent which raised its level of play in the second half.

“Both teams struggled in the first half. We made some bad passing decisions, but the first team to recover was South China and the standout performance was from their central defenders — they were remarkable tonight,” Global assistant coach Dan Padernal was quoted as saying by the AFC Cup Web site after the match.

Despite the loss, Global still has a chance to advance to the next round by beating Pahang of Malaysia, 7-4 winner over Yadanarbon of Myanmar on Wednesday, in a home match at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan on May 13.

“While it is going to be difficult for us to advance, we will work hard to defeat Pahang and hopefully we can make it into the next round,” Mr. Padernal said.

In the AFC Cup, the top two teams from the eight groups in the initial phase advance to the Round of 16. —