Ceres-Negros buckles up for tough Bacolod fight
LOCAL club Ceres- Negros FC will play what could be its last 2017 AFC Cup match in Bacolod City today if it does come up with a victory over Johor Darul Ta’zim of Malaysia in the second leg of their ASEAN Zonal Semifinals.
Playing at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City beginning at 7:30 p.m., home team Ceres needs to make up for lost ground after falling. 3-2, to JDT in the first leg on the latter’s turf.
Failure on the part of Ceres to produce a favorable result in today’s fixture will mean the end of its campaign in this year’s edition of the region’s secondary club football tournament hosted by the Asian Football Confederation, and see its opponent advance to the zonal finals.
In the first leg on May 17, Ceres fell back early with JDT midfielder Gonzalo Cabrera connecting in the 18th minute.
The lead, however, proved to be short-lived for the hosts as Ceres got back the goal it gave away via a Fernando Rodriguez header three minutes later.
Teammate Bienvenido Marañon then put Ceres ahead, 2-1, in the 25th minute after curling a long- range shot that went past JDT goalkeeper Farizal Marlias.
But JDT would equalize right before the halftime break when midfielder Safiq Rahim found the bottom of the net in the 44th minute.
The two teams battled back and forth to start the second half until JDT forward Hazwan Bakri broke through in the 68th minute which wound up eventually as the game- winning goal to give them the first- leg win.
While admitting it was disappointed not being able to come up with the win the first time around, Ceres said it remains bullish of its chances heading into the second leg.
With the two away goals it was able to score, a 1-0 result in the second leg is enough to thrust the club to the AFC Cup ASEAN zonal finals.
“I think we deserve a little more for the chances we created… We have to win, they have to defend the result, and I think we can for sure do very well in Bacolod in front of our supporters,” said Mr. Marañon on Ceres’s official Web site in the run- up to today’s match.
Supporting Mr. Marañon’s upbeat thinking are solid numbers that Ceres has posted in Panaad in the 2017 AFC Cup, having yet to lose on its home field, with a record of two wins and a draw, as well as scoring 11 goals in its matches there to date.
Ceres said it is expecting a capacity crowd to rally behind the team against JDT.
The second leg of the Ceres-JDT match will be broadcast live over FOX Sports 2 beginning at 7:30 p.m. —