By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Unfamiliar pitch, powerhouse foes, hostile crowd. Ceres was against all odds but still they managed to gut out a win.
The Ceres-Negros FC pulled off an upset win against heavy favorites Port FC, 1-0, in front of the losing team’s home pitch to advance to the third round of the AFC Champions League Qualifiers.
Adjusting early on to PAT Stadium in Thailand, the mighty busmen found themselves with several lapses defensively as they allowed Port FC’s strikers to penetrate at will.
Regrouped and adjusted, the improved communication on the defensive end gave them the much-needed stops to jumpstart their offensive setups in the game.
In the 51st minute of the match, Stephan Shrock’s magic was again in full display as he found the back of the net after firing a well-placed cross that was miscalculated by the Port’s goalkeeper, kissing the net and going up, 1-0.
The win will guarantee the Ceres squad a third-round qualifier appearance and if they win, they will punch a ticket to the AFC Champions League.
The busmen will be up against FC Tokyo on January 28, 2020, and they will play as the away team for the second consecutive time in their AFC qualifier stint.
