Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bacolod City: A pair of penalty kicks from Bienvenido Maranon and Adrian Gallardo saw Philippines champions Ceres La Salle secure their first-ever home win in the AFC Cup and leapfrog Tuesday’s opponents Tampines Rovers into first place in Group E after a 2-1 victory at a sodden Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
After a delay to kick-off due to a tumultuous downpour in Bacolod City, Maranon opened the scoring on 21 minutes from the spot before Gallardo netted his fifth goal of the competition before half-time.
Second half substitute Billy Mehmet pulled a goal back for the visitors not long after the hour mark but Ceres were able to see out the remainder of the tie to rise to the top of the group with two games left to play.
“It’s a blessing for us (being on top of the group),” said Ceres coach Franklin Muescan. “The players were really determined to get the win and our handwork paid off.”
“If you’re leading two goals at home in the first half, it’s natural that the level goes down, but we maintained our organisation in defense and our goalkeeper made some crucial saves. With the mindset and preparation of the players, we know we can get three points at home.”
A thunderous deluge complete with flashes of lightning caused the game’s start to be suspended until conditions had calmed over an hour later and it was the hosts who edged a belated opening on the saturated turf.
And a 20th-minute handball inside the penalty area from Tampines defender Kwon Jun gave the hosts the opportunity to take the lead, which Maranon duly accepted as he coolly converted with his spot-kick straight down the middle as goalkeeper Joey Sim dived to his left.
Action swept to the other end of the field, though, as Ceres stopper Michael Casas had to be alert to deny Fazrul Nawaz’s firm header and then the same player was caught off-side as he slid home Hafiz Sujad’s shot-cum-cross.
Tampines were punished for their missed opportunities on 36 minutes as they conceded another penalty, and this time Gallardo stepped up to blast home into the roof of the net.
But the Singaporeans came out strongly in the second half and did reduce the deficit on the 64th minute as Mehmet's deflected effort left Casas rooted to the spot.
And V. Sundramoorthy’s team cranked up the pressure in their search for the leveller but they were unable to break through, with captain Mustafic Fahrudin going within inches of a last-minute equaliser as he directed a header wide from an 89th-minute corner.
“Both teams are on a level playing field even though we started the game late,” said the Tampines coach. “The delay didn't really affect us. I mean I put an attacking lineup but we got called for two penalties.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports