Ceres looks to overcome odds on home turf
BURIED deep in its AFC Cup Inter-Zone Semifinals with Tajikistan side FC Istiklol, CeresNegros FC looks to defy the odds when it hosts the second leg of their matchup today at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City.
Bowed to the Central Asia Zone winners, 4-0, in the first leg in Dushanbe, Ceres, the ASEAN Zone winner, needs to hack out at least a 5-0 victory today against Istiklol to advance to the next round of Asia’s secondary club football tournament hosted by the Asian Football Confederation.
Anything less may not be enough to turn things around for the team.
In the first leg played on Aug. 22, “The Busmen” just could not get their game going.
Forward Akhtam Nazarov got the scoring rolling for Istiklol when he scored in the 25th minute off a penalty kick that resulted from Ceres defender Kota Kawase’s taking down of Dimitri Barkov.
The host would then create further distance just as the opening half was drawing to a close with midfielder Romish Dzalilov beating the Ceres defense with a solid strike in the 45th minute.
Ceres tried to rally back in the second half but Istiklol was unrelenting in its attack on both ends, capitalizing on each opportunity given it.
The host team put away the game for good when forward Manuchekhr Dzhalilov scored a brace in the 67’ and 88’ minute for the final score and the win.
The result was uncharacteristic of Ceres, which had it sharp in the lead- up to the inter- zone semifinals, topping its grouping in the group stage befre winning in the ASEAN Zonal finals convincingly.
Despite the hole it is in, Ceres remains upbeat of bucking the odds, seeing how Pana- ad has been good to the team throughout its run in the tournament.
In connection to its push amid a tough hill climb, Ceres is encouraging home fans to rally behind it and help the team in its quest to create further history in the AFC Cup.
Kickoff of the second leg against Istiklol is at 7 p.m.
JPV MARIKINA WINS
Meanwhile, in the Philippines Football League, JPV Marikina defeated Kaya FC-Makati, 1-0, in their fixture played at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium last Sunday.
A first-half goal from JPV center back Masaki Yanagawa (34’) proved to be enough to keep Kaya at bay and the home team to claim the victory.
“I was able to break through with a run. I thought I made a mistake, but I got lucky and was able to score. We really needed to win to reach the top four teams,” said Mr. Yanagawa after the game.
The win improved JPV Marikina to 8-3-7 with 27 points, good for fifth place to date in the newly formed national football league while Kaya dropped to 9-5-6 with 32 points but still inside the top four.
Also victorious last Sunday was Stallion Laguna FC, 5-0, over Ilocos United FC. —