CEBU CITY—Derailed the last time out, Global tries to pull off the improbable when it collides with two-time champion Dordoi Bishkek in their final Group B match in the AFC President’s Cup at Cebu City Sports Center.
The reigning UFL champions have no choice but to win the 7:30 p.m. battle after falling to a 0-2 defeat to Khan Research Laboratories of Pakistan last Friday.
Unless KRL falls in a monumental upset to Yeedzin of Bhutan in the first match, only the maximum three points will cut it for Global, which opened the tournament with a 5-0 victory over the Bhutanese side.
As it stands, Global is in third spot with three points with Dordoi and KRL on top with four points each although the Kyrgyzstanis have the better goal difference owing to their 9-0 win over Yeedzin last Friday.
If KRL was tough, Dordoi, with almost the entire Kyrgyzstan national team in its lineup, appears to be even more menacing in their rout of Yeedzin. But Global owner Dan Palami has plenty of faith in his squad.
“We understand that it was never going to be an easy task for us (to qualify for the final round) and we needed to increase our level,” he said. “It’s a tall order considering the strength of Dordoi, but I expect the team to fight until the end.”
Compact defensively and threatening on the counterattack, KRL exposed Global’s inexperience in the tournament for the first time with a workmanlike
performance.
But coach Brian Reid was defiant in defeat, saying the better team lost.
“We were the better team, we passed them, we played our position, but two mistakes costs us,” Reid said. “To lose this game is unbelievable. I feel we should have won the game.”
Though they were dominant in possession, the Filipinos found it difficult breaking down the Pakistanis, who hustled and harried Carli de Murga and Marwin Angeles at midfield and closed down quickly on attackers Patrick Reichelt and Misagh Bahadoran.
Global’s new goalkeeper Moussa Sanogo also looked shaky and was culpable for the first goal when he unnecessarily went off his line before watching the swerving corner kick fly past him in the 12th minute. Reid still has the option of fielding national player Ed Sacapano for the duel with Dordoi.