A battling performance from Ceres-Negros wasn’t enough to overcome a star-studded Tianjin Quianjian side on Tuesday as the Busmen fell, 2-0, in their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League playoff at Tianjin Olympic Stadium.
French striker Anthony Modeste scored a goal in each half as Tianjin clinched a spot in the group stage, while relegating the Philippines Football League champions to the second-tier AFC Cup.
Arriving in the city outside Beijing just 12 hours before kickoff due to visa issues, the Busmen showed no fear against the Chinese powerhouse—coping well, too, with the freezing conditions—and even had the match’s first big chance courtesy of Stephan Schrock.
Released by a fine ball from Mike Ott, Schrock’s close-range effort was saved by Chinese keeper Zhang Lou in the 13th minute.
The Busmen looked the more threatening side in the early minutes, before the strong and powerful Modeste broke the deadlock with a header off a corner kick in the 19th minute.
Ott also had a great chance five minutes after the restart when Zhang missed a clearance, before the ball fell to the diminutive Ceres winger, who couldn’t get power on the effort.
Seven minutes later, Modeste made it 2-0, finishing clinically past Toni Doblas after picking up a through ball from Alexandre Pato.
Ceres now shifts its attention to the AFC Cup, where the Busmen will face the winner of the playoff between Lao Toyotaand Boeung Ket Angkor of Cambodia in the group stage on Feb. 13 in Bacolod City.