Stipe Plazibat is a name which will haunt Global Cebu Football Club for years to come
The Croatian striker snatched a last-minute goal in the first leg encounter to help Home United Football Club secure a 2-2 draw at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
Tonight, though, Plazibat enacted further damage to Global as he scored twice in the last six minutes of the match to eliminate the Philippines Football League side tonight at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore as Home prevailed 3-2.
“I’m not disappointed with the performance of the players,” shared Global coach Marjo Allado.
It was a painful result for Global considering the last United Football League champions drew first blood. Home goalie Sunny Hassan brought down Global’s Trinidadian forward Darryl Roberts. The referee called for a penalty which midfielder Kemy Agustien converted after six minutes of play.
All of a sudden Global were on the driver’s seat. The margin didn’t matter as the Cebu side just needed to win. Chances came for Global, but Hikaru Minegishi and substitute striker Misagh Bahadoran shot wide.
Global were forced to pay for their misses at the 36th minute when Home’s midfielder Song Ui-Young leveled the contest with a powerful strike. Both teams entered the break level although Global showed that the circumstances didn’t intimidate them in this tight affair.
Similar to the first half, the Dan Palami side opened the next period with a goal. Japanese forward Shu Sasaki was unmarked in the Home box and he headed the ball in at the 49th minute to give Global commanding lead in the contest.
At the 71st minute, things started to unravel for Global. Filipino-Italian midfielder Dennis Villanueva was given a red card for a foul against Marijan Suto. It was déjà vu for the Cebu club as it went through the same exact circumstances like the first leg held weeks ago.
Unfortunately for Global, there was to be no miracle this time around. The defense was caught sleeping as Plazibat scored his first goal at the 84th minute with a cold-blooded finish. The future was bleak for Global at this stage. With only 10 men on the pitch, Home sniffed blood and sought to end the game without extra time.
Global barely hung on and conceded a foul outside the box. In the last minute of stoppage time, Plazibat scored a fantastic and heartbreaking free kick to book Home’s ticket to the next round of the 2017 AFC Cup.
Allado explained, “We were just telling telling ourselves outside that I hope this free kick does not go in. My goalkeeper tried to save it. It’s a beautiful freekick.”
Home won the game 3-2 and formally advanced to the zonal finals with an aggregate score of 5-4 as Global was left to lament what might have been. It was a painful defeat for Global, but a necessary learning curve for the club and Philippine clubs in general.
Home United XI: Sunny, Yunos, Jantan, Ui-Young, Plazibat, Ramli, Nizam, Shafiq, Sharif, Asraf, Fandi
Global-Cebu XI: Deyto, Hartmann, Mulders, Villanueva, Minegishi, Agustien, Roberts, Clarino, Sasaki, Santos, Barbaso
