Global FC crash out of AFC President’s Cup

Cebu - It was even more humid than the past two game days as the Philippines’ Global FC faced Kyrgyz Republic’s Dordoi Bishkek FC at the Cebu City Sports Center’ Abellana Field.

The third, and last, game day for this leg of the AFC President’s Cup saw Global FC fighting for the right to play in the next stage of the tournament. However, a bright start did not signal a good end for the team, as Global FC crashed, and Dordoi FC came out with the 6-1 win.

First half

Coach Brian Reid opted to start Joshua Beloya in place of Denis Wolf; the Fil-German striker had been ineffective in the tournament leading up to this game. Jerry Barbaso remained captain of the squad.

Global looked like they knew their business early on, and their hard work paid off early, as a clearance of a shot by Jeffrey Christiaens went straight to Carlie de Murga for a low shot that got past the Dordoi goalkeeper and into the bottom corner. It was 1-0 for the Philippine side of things at the ninth minute.

However, just minutes after that, Global’s Ivorian goal keeper, Moussa Sanogo, fumbled the ball and it landed almost at the feet of a Dordoi player, who simply took the shot. The equalizer came in at the 14th minute.

Then, things took a turn for the worse for Global FC, as the increasingly unreliable keeper looked even more nervous after fumbling the ball. Sanogo kept on leaving his area and then running back only when the ball was already well on its way.

At the 24th minute, a Dordoi ball found its way into the box. Starosta clipped a Kyrgyztani player, and the referee whistled for a penalty kick. Sanogo’s frayed nerves and inexperience showed, and the penalty kick found its target, making it 2-1 in favor of the visiting side.

A glimmer of hope for Global came in the 31st minute though, as Misagh Bahadoran, bound by two defenders, found a streaking de Murga, who was able to take a shot from outside the box. However, Dordoi’s keeper was able to deflect, then catch the ball as it went directly to him.

And still, luck did not turn Global FC’s way, as Patrick Reichelt had to be replaced by Nino Ochotorena in the 33rd minute, going down with what looked like a knee or ankle injury.    

The substitution though, enabled Christiaens to move up to wing as Ochotorena manned his former spot in the back line, and this resulted in a more fluid-passing midfield and a couple more attacks. However, as the halftime whistle blew, it was still Dordoi FC with the advantage.

Second half

Unexpectedly, it was still Moussa Sanogo who marched on to the field at the start of the second half, even if on-loan keeper Ed Sacapano had already been warming up before the break.

At the 55th minute, tragedy for Global FC struck again. Dordoi were awarded a free kick just a couple of meters outside the box, and no one got even a portion of the ball as it sailed in and hit the back of the net. A virtually insurmountable 3-1 scoreline in favor of Dordoi stared Global in the face.

At the 57th minute, something unexplainable happened. Moussa Sanogo, who already had a problematic first half, ran the whole length of the pitch and looked like he was going to try and score a goal. By himself.

Five minutes later, Sacapano came on for the beleaguered Sanogo, to many cheers from the crowd. But EdSa, as he is popularly called, did not save the day for Global.

Dordoi FC scored again at the 64th and 76th minutes, with Global still unable to answer with a goal.

Clearly getting frustrated, the players took it out in other ways, with Jason de Jong and Carlie de Murga getting booked for scuffles.

Adding insult to injury, Dordoi was able to score once more in added time, making it 6-1 in favor of the team from Kyrgyztan.

“That’s his last game for Global,” said coach Brian Reid after the game about Moussa Sanogo.

What's next

Global FC does not move on to the next stage of the AFC President’s Cup, as only the top two teams from the group, Pakistan’s KRL FC and Kyrgzytan’s Dordoi FC, qualify.

The UFL squad will return to Manila to play in the ongoing UFL League, where they have a game on Tuesday versus Pachanga-Diliman FC.

The Dan Palami-managed club is also slated to play in the RHB Singapore Cup in June.  - AMD, GMA News