Ceres midfielder Manny Ott fires a shot against Garena Young Lions in their Singapore Cup match. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
SINGAPORE—Ceres-La Salle got the result it wanted to start its Singapore Cup campaign, but the Bacolod-based side’s performance left plenty to be desired even after a 3-1 extra time victory over Garena Young Lions Sunday night at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Rediscovering his scoring touch, Stephan Schrock got a brace while Kim Sang-min knocked in the go-ahead goal in extra time, but the result failed to mask a sputtering performance from a team that has been juggling two international competitions and a domestic campaign in the past three months.
Ceres coach Ali Go said his charges have no recourse but to improve to stand a chance in the two-leg quarterfinals against S-League champion DPMM Brunei from June 27 to July 3.
Global also advanced to the quarterfinals where it will face Tampines Rovers.
“We have to play better if we want to go far in this tournament,” said Go. “We have been playing a lot of games and some of the players are tired and injured.”
Ceres bowed out of the AFC Cup last Tuesday and for a while, it seemed it had not recovered from the defeat, looking battle-weary as it struggled to find openings against a team made up of Singapore’s top Under-23 players.
Schrock’s opening goal in the 44th minute was met with relief as Ceres looked vulnerable on the counterattack. After bungling a series of chances in the second half, the 2015 UFL champions conceded the equalizer in the 87th minute as Joshua Pereira tapped in from close range after two efforts rattled the bar.
Ceres couldn’t find another gear to its attack, but Schrock proved dangerous and tricky with the ball at his feet. The Fil-German won a free kick on the right, which Martin Steuble took for Kim to head home in the 99th minute.
Schrock capitalized on a moment of indecision from the defense to head home another Steuble free kick to seal the win in the 100th minute.