Ceres rues missed chances

Ceres-La Salle rued the missed opportunities that led to its exit in the AFC Cup on Tuesday with a 1-0 extra time defeat to Hong Kong side South China in their round of 16 match at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

Chances were begging for Ceres, particularly in the second half but failed to find the back of the net against the resolute defending of the visitors before paying the ultimate prize in the early moments of the second half extra time by conceding the only goal of the match.

Brazilian Luiz Carlos struck in the 16th minute of extra time by firing a shot off a header by teammate Mahama Awal into the net, thus eliminating Ceres from the competition.

“We didn’t capitalize on our goalscoring opportunities and the goal happened because of a mistake that sometimes we cannot avoid,” said Ceres coach Frank Muescan as quoted by the AFC’s official website. “They capitalized on that mistake and converted it into a goal.”

Ceres had an impressive campaign in its first foray in the AFC Cup, topping Group E with three wins and three draws.

Leading the charge was Spanish striker Adrian Gallardo, who ranked third for most goals in the group stage with eight. However, Gallardo was completely marked by the South China defense.

Despite the loss, Muescan said the experience would bode well for the club as it tries to repeat as champions of the United Football League while competing in the Singapore Cup this weekend.

“We’re very confident we can do a lot better in the next campaign and we have learnt a lot from this experience,” said Muescan, who shares the coaching duties with Ali Go.

“The AFC Cup is played at a high level and we feel we are almost there. We were so unlucky tonight but that’s football.”