Ceres-La Salle team captain Juani Guirado was both relieved and delighted after his team delivered a couple of important victories this week. On Wednesday, they claimed a comfortable 7-0 victory over one of the league’s hottest teams in Green Archers United. Three days later, they moved one step closer after beating Kaya 2-0. Pleased with the outcomes, the center back puts importance in working together towards a greater cause–winning their first league title.
Despite whipping their opponents who won their previous four matches prior to facing Ceres-La Salle, the Philippines international has massive respect for one of their latest victims in the league. “[Playing against] Green Archers, you never know what’s going to happen.,” he said, adding that they could not afford to be complacent throughout the contest if they wanted to win. “We started very hard and we were lucky we scored early. That’s why the team grew [confident] and scored a little bit more goals,” he furthered. It appears that seven goals out of eight on target and 12 overall sounds quite a lot for a “little bit more” goals. They then guaranteed another big win against Kaya last night. Playing sharp on the pitch again, Ceres converted two goals despite only managing five shots on goal with 63% shot accuracy. The Spanish duo of Marañon and Gallardo supplied the goals last night.
They were supreme not just offensively, for they also made life treacherous for their past two opponents defensively. Not allowing a shot on target against GAU, Ceres-La Salle witnessed their opponents wound up a woeful five shots, all wayward. It was somehow a different story against the determined Kaya team. Ceres-La Salle may have conceded eight shots on target and 10 overall, but an excellent defensive performance resulted in another clean sheet. After dropping valuable points against Global last Sunday, Guirado thinks that the belief of taking home the prized silverware has become stronger than ever. “We know we have a good team. We know we can fight for everything. Game by game, we started to know that maybe we can win the league right now,” the Azkal mainstay proclaimed.
The skipper also heralded the team’s impeccable cooperation as the most vital aspect of their game. Loaded with a talented mix of homegrown players and talents from Europe, East Asia, and Africa, the Negros team is arguably the best team on paper. Hence, Guirado thinks that the best way of reflecting their reputable strength is by understanding each other well in playing on the field. “We have a lot of talented players. We know that in a tied game one of our talented players can finish and score one of the goals [to win], but if we don’t play like a team, we’ll never win,” the defender emphasized.
At the moment, Guirado and company are just one point away from putting their fellow contenders statistically out of the title race. Should they not lose to upcoming foes Team Socceroo, Ceres-La Salle will crowned as the 2015 UFL Champions. It will be played this coming Saturday afternoon at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
