After Ceres Negros FC’s big win against Singapore club Home United, the 2017 Philippines Football League looked to ride on the local club football scene’s momentum with great games, and it did so with aplomb.
Ceres wins five-goal thriller against Kaya in UMak
Straight from their exploits in Panaad against Home United, Ceres showed no signs of tiredness as they won 3-2 away against Kaya Makati at the University of Makati football field last August 12.
Negros coach Risto Vidakovic shared, “I think we deserved it. We were better, and tried to play football all the time.”
Omid Nazari opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a free kick to hand the Bacolod club a 1-0 edge at halftime. That lead was doubled by Arnie Pasinabo, whose long-range strike went past Kaya goalie Ref Cuaresma in the 50th minute.
Not to be undone, Robert Lopez Mendy retaliated after the visitors’ failure to clear their lines allowed him to cut the deficit into half after 51 minutes of play. Any possible comeback was prevented, though, as Bienvenido Maranon’s tap-in in the 63rd minute restored the ASEAN Zonal Champions’ two-goal cushion.
Jordan Mintah pulled another goal back for Kaya deep into stoppage time, but it was a case of too little, too late. In the end, Ceres prevailed 3-2 against Kaya. Ceres’ win leaves them in fourth place in the standings with 25 points, while Kaya are a place above them with 27 points.
First half Tacagni brace lifts Meralco above Stallion
League leaders Meralco Manila FC strengthened their grip on top of the standings with a 3-2 away victory versus struggling Stallion Laguna in Binan.
San Beda Red Lion forward Connor Tacagni capitalized on some good aerial passes as he scored two headers in the 28th and 33rd minutes respectively to hand the Sparks a commanding two-goal cushion in the first half.
Meralco’s veteran coach Aris Caslib explained, “Heading is Connor’s strength. I’ve told him he could get a lot of chances off diagonal balls and they were delivered perfectly today.”
Upon the game’s resumption, the Sparks’ advantage was tripled when Filipino-American defender Tyler Matas’ run into the Stallion box paid dividends with a fine strike after 55 minutes.
Down three goals at home, Stallion tried to regain some their pride. Korean defender Ko Kyung Joon’s shot from outside the box crept past Manila goalie Florencio Badelic in the 76th minute. Joon’s goal was then followed up by Fitch Arboleda’s late header in stoppage time.
Nevertheless, Meralco held on for the 3-2 win, and the Sparks lead the league with 33 points while Stallion are still in sixth place with 14 points.
Uesato scores four goals as JPV ransack Deyto-less Global
After five games, JPV-Marikina finally returned to the win column last August 12. Four straight losses and a draw severely hampered the Marikina club’s PFL campaign, and they are now at the outskirts of the top four.
JPV badly needed a win, and they did so in stunning fashion with a 5-2 rout of Global Cebu at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
Marikina coach Dan Padernal said, “First half we have a very good start of the game. Gameplan is… waiting for them to attack then go for the counterattack. The result is very good. We are very happy for this win today.”
Azkals striker Misagh Bahadoran played as Global’s goalkeeper due to Patrick Deyto’s suspension because of accumulation of cards, and it was a tough time for the Filipino-Iranian in goal. Takumi Uesato needed only the first minute of the game to put one past Bahadoran.
It wasn’t Bahadoran’s fault, however, as Global were all over the place defensively. Uesato capitalized latched on some good passing plays to score thrice more at the 13th, 18th and 34th minutes while Takashi Odawara added one in between at the 33rd minute.
Bahadoran tweeted after the game, “As team captain, I take responsibility whenever my team needs me the most. Learning from this experience and moving forward. Thank you all.”
The contest was already as good as dead at halftime, as JPV led 5-0. Global’s Spanish striker Rufo Sanchez got a consolation goal in the 63rd minute after a good passage of play, and Dennis Villanueva got another one in the 81st minute via a header.
With the win, JPV now have 22 points in fifth place, while Global have 28 points and are in second place.
On Deck
There will be three games on August 16. Ceres shall host Meralco in Bacolod while Kaya will do the same against JPV in UMak. Both games shall kick off at 4:00 PM. The third fixture of the day shall see Ilocos welcome Stallion at the former’s home field Qurino Stadium with kickoff at 7:00 PM.
