Ceres widens gap after blanking Stallion

BACOLOD CITY—Japanese striker Takumi Uesato struck twice in the second half to propel leader Ceres- Negros to a 2-0 blanking of Stallion Laguna on Sunday night in the Philippines Football League (PFL) at Panaad Stadium here.

Atoning for his missed opportunities in the first half, Uesato bagged a brace in the space of four minutes as the Busmen extended their lead at the top to 12 points.

With the win, Ceres hiked its tally to 38 points from 17 matches while second running Kaya, which plays Stallion on Wednesday, has 26 from 15 matches.

The league format calls for all six teams to play 25 matches each.

“This is an important win because its not easy to beat the same team twice in four days,” said Ceres coach Risto Vidakovic.

“It’s tough to motivate the players, but they worked hard in this game and we get the three points and a few days break to prepare for Kaya.”

Ceres will travel to Iloilo to face Kaya on Saturday before squaring off again four days later. Vidakovic believes those two games against Kaya could decide the title race.

The Busmen hardly looked threatening for large portions of the match, but they got the job done thanks to a solid five minute spell in the second half where Uesato found his scoring touch.

The Japanese striker broke the deadlock by stroking home a cross from Mike Ott in the 66th minute, before doubling the lead four minutes later when he fired into an empty net after Stallion goalkeeper Benito Rosalia misjudged a long ball.

“I’m happy for him,” said Vidakovic referring to his striker. “He has been struggling with injuries and to score at such an important game shows his ability.”