CERES FC PHOTO/ JanB Dayrit
MANILA, Philippines–Ceres-Negros thrives being an underdog—be it in the AFC Champions League or in the knockout matches against established clubs in the continent.
But in the group stage of the AFC Cup where the Busmen are expected to overcome their rivals, the Philippines Football League champions seem to have trouble when other teams raise their game against them.
“We have to expect that teams will always be motivated to play against us,” said coach Risto Vidakovic after a sub-par performance from his team led to a 2-2 draw with Vietnamese side Than Quang Ninh Tuesday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
“We didn’t play well in the first half. We were confused and we couldn’t find space (against) the defense.”
Playing the same 3-4-3 formation as in their 4-0 victory over Svay Rieng of Cambodia two weeks ago, the Busmen fell behind on Jamaican striker Jeremie Lynch’s 24th-minute strike that was aided by some poor defending.
Bienve Marañon scored his third goal of the tournament by firing home a penalty at the stroke of halftime to make it 1-1.
After a brilliant spell to start the second half, the Busmen finally grabbed the lead thanks to OJ Porteria’s brilliant finish at the near post on the counterattack, but Than Quang Ninh proved stubborn,
getting a share of the points after Nguyen Hai Huy struck the equalizer with 20 minutes remaining.
“Tonight, we weren’t at our best,” said captain Stephan Schrock. “It wasn’t our best game especially defensively. It’s still a point, but this is not a game that everyone expected from us so we have to learn
and improve.”
The result kept Ceres on top of Group G, after Bali United lost to Svay Rieng of Cambodia, 1-2, in Phnom Penh. The Busmen have four points from two matches with Bali in second, ahead of Svey Rieng on goal difference.
Still, Vidakovic said the result should serve as a lesson for the Busmen to bring out their best performance every game. The Busmen looked comfortable in possession but struggled to find the passing
angles to pick apart the defense for most of the match.
“This wasn’t our best game and it should be a wake-up call for us that if we don’t bring in our best performance, we can drop points,” said Vidakovic. “We have to be more focused because these teams know how to play against us. We are the team to beat and our mindset is that our level should not drop.”