CERES-LA SALLE punctuated its quick and remarkable rise in the United Football League by stunning reigning champion Global FC, 2-1, Thursday night to wrest the FA League Cup amid a festive atmosphere at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Korean midfielder Kim Jin-ho and Spanish striker Adrian Gallardo put the Bacolod side 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes, which proved enough cushion to hold off a Global fightback in the second half.
Ceres defended heroically after going down to 10 men following Juani Guirado’s 74th-minute red card, preserving the win to the delight of its yellow-clad, drum-beating supporters in a thrilling final.
“This team has proven a lot in the past two years,” Ceres striker Patrick Reichelt said. “We knew we would be here soon.”
Although Ceres has bagged back-to-back national club championships, the club owned by Leorey Yanson joined the UFL only early this year, working its way up from the second division.
Beefing up its roster with national team players and a slew of solid foreign recruits, Ceres already looked primed to take the league by storm. And the Busmen did so with a nine-game sweep of the season-opening tournament.
“It’s all hard work and patience by the team,” Ceres manager Ali Go said. “We always work hard to win every tournament we play in.”
Kim, who later bagged the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player, headed home a Manny Ott corner kick 55 seconds into the match, before Gallardo doubled the advantage with an instinctive strike after another corner kick in the 21st minute.
Global struggled to find its rhythm early on, with Ceres limiting the reigning league champions to half-chances.
A sublime 35-yard strike from Global star Mark Hartmann trimmed the gap in the 68th minute and set the stage for a nervy finish for the Bacolod side, which fended off one attack after another.
An unmarked Edgar Briones could have sent the game into extra time, but Ceres goalkeeper Michael Casas came up with a superb reflex save from a close-range volley, ending Global’s resistance.
Global was actually fortunate not to have conceded two more goals when Din Ho again fired wide after another well-worked corner kick in the second half, before Ott, who pulled the strings at midfield, was spectacularly denied by Patrick Deyto on a one on one following a nifty ball from Gallardo.
The best goalkeeper of the tournament award proved small consolation for Deyto, who wept at the final whistle.