Ceres La Salle make AFC Cup history as Kaya FC seek second chance
Ceres vs. Selangor
Ceres managed a creditable 0-0 draw away to Selangor on Tuesday night.
Philippine football history was created yet again this week as UFL League champions Ceres La Salle booked a place in the knockout stages of the AFC Cup for the first time in the country's history.
A draw away to Selangor was just about what both teams deserved and it was enough for Ceres to progress to the next round.
Meanwhile, Kaya FC will have to wait until the last matchday to book themselves a ticket to the next round after a disappointing home loss to Kitchee FC.
Here are three thoughts from Matchday five:
1. Ceres deserve to go through
Defeated domestically in the UFL Cup final by rivals Global FC, Ceres looked to the AFC Cup to immediately soothe their disappointment.
Marquee signing Stephan Schrock returned to full fitness to make the starting eleven while veteran defender Juani Guirado was unavailable due to injury.
While Ceres naturally wanted to come out with a win and earn the full three points, they could have been forgiven for playing for the draw away to the reigning Malaysia Cup champions.
Chances were difficult to come by for both teams. The absence of Bienvenido Maranon for Ceres, and the early departure of Selangor's Patrick Wleh midway through the first half because of injury, meant that the attack from both sides was blunted.
Ceres will be satisfied with the draw that saw them progress to the Round of 16, especially as the game offered a chance for Schrock to play the full 90 minutes pain-free.
Given their performance over five matchdays so far, it was difficult to begrudge a consistent Ceres team their place in the next round.
Kaya FC
Kaya will need to get a result in the final group game to make the knockout stages.
2. Kaya must look at the positives
Going into the pivotal game against Kitchee in Manila, much of the pre-match talk was about the heat and the playing conditions. Television scheduling required that the match started at 3pm in Manila.
Playing in 37 degree celsius heat is no laughing matter, even more so on artificial turf. Yet, fans watching from home would not have noticed the weather, as both Kaya and Kitchee started the game at a frenetic pace.
After last December's AFC Cup draw, prominent Hong Kong news agencies labelled Kaya as the minnows of the group.
But, with three straight victories coming in, Kaya had shown that they are far from pushovers.
As in their first encounter in Hong Kong, Kitchee were the better team in the first half. Their superior ball possession meant that Kaya were forced to chase shadows early on.
But midfielder Alfred Osei was all action as he drove his team onwards as Kitchee wilted in the heat late in the first half.
The second half presented Kaya with a host of chances to take the lead, with OJ Porteria and Miguel Tanton coming close. But it would be Kitchee who came up with a goal under dramatic circumstances in the 86th minute.
After scoring a dramatic winner on the second matchday against Balestier Khalsa, it was the turn of Kaya to be stunned by late heroics. Harima Hirokane, making only his third appearance in the senior team, slotted home from close range after an uncharacteristic error from Kaya's Australian goalkeeper Matthew Acton.
Kaya were disappointed with the home defeat, but will seek solace in the fact that they have a second chance to secure progression in two weeks' time.
Ceres vs. Selangor
Ceres are the first ever Philippines team to qualify for the AFC Cup knockout stages.
3. History made, and more history could follow
For a country that was given an AFC Cup berth for the first time last year, the Philippine clubs' performances this season have been more than respectable.
Ceres have become the first Filipino team to go through to the knockout stages, and they will do their chances of further progression a ton of good if they are able to win their last group game, which would secure home ground advantage in the Round of 16.
As their previous results have shown, playing at Panaad Park in Bacolod, with the raucous yellow clad army behind them, will be a massive boost.
And, as a shock Tampines Rovers' loss to the Bangladeshi side proved, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club are far from pushovers.
After failing at home to secure the necessary point to take them through, Kaya will aim to make amends away to an already eliminated New Radiant.
While travel to the Maldives and fatigue could be factors, Kaya will be buoyed by the incentive of joining Ceres in the next round to make it two teams out of two from the Philippines.
If that happens, it will be an achievement that will be worth savouring in a year that the Philippines co-hosts the AFF Suzuki Cup
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