Two teams that are on the lookout for that important first victory in the 2018 AFC Cup square off on Tuesday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
Global Cebu Football Club and Bali United Football Club started their continental campaigns at the backfoot and both would be eager to get the monkey off their backs.
“Well, tomorrow it will be a tough game, crucial game for both teams. On our side we will do what we can to get three points because football is about results. We want to fight for everything to get the three points because we want to be on the table again,” commented Global coach Marjo Allado.
Global lost 0-1 in its first assignment this season away against Vietnamese club FLC Thanh Hóa Football Club in Hanoi while the same can be said about Bali as it also suffered 1-3 at home to Myanmar’s Yangon United.
Bali coach Widodo Putro shared, “Global is a good team, they represent the Philippines in the AFC Cup. But we have come from Bali and we will give a good fight. We will do what we can to get maximum points.”
With only a small margin of error available in Group G, the race is on to get three important points. Only the club which finishes first is assured of a ticket to the Zonal semi-finals as the next best team’s entry is reliant on other groups’ results.
“All of these games are tough. But this is a must-win for us if we want to progress. We will give it our best,” said Global captain Patrick Deyto.
The road to dethroning Ceres Negros as the AFC Cup’s best ASEAN team has already begun for both sides. It is simply a case of getting back on track now.
Bali’s Nick Van der Velder said, “Global are a good team, good individual players, but I believe in our team too.”
There is a saying not how you start but how you finish. The only option for both clubs now is to buck their slow start and finish strong.
