PFF Club Championship: Ceres rout Kaya, reach final

 

Defeating the best the UFL could offer, they have turned more than a few heads as Jayson Panhay and Yoon Byeong-Jun gave Ceres a first half 2-0 lead.

 

Kaya tried to comeback with Chris Greatwich pulling a goal back in the second half and the game finished in dramatic fashion as Yoon Byeong-Jun won a penalty which his Korean compatriot Gun Hee Choi converted to seal the win.

 

First half

 

Well-organized and hunting in packs, Ceres proved difficult for Kaya to break down. After the first conservative, opening exchanges, Ceres lit up the game to open the scoring in the 26th minute. Jayson Panhay ran onto a great through ball from Joshua Beloya, a former Kaya player himself, and the winger deftly lifted the ball over Saba Sadeghi with his first touch to open the scoring in the 26th minute.

 

Until then, Kaya looked the more likely to score but Panhay’s first goal for Ceres in the final stage of the 2013 PFF National Club Championship put his club in front. 

 

The pitch at Rizal Memorial Stadium has certainly seen better days, and to some degree it affected the playing styles of the teams, as more long balls and high balls started to creep into the team’s play. 

 

When Ceres got the ball back down their Korean midfielders Kim Jung Mook and Yoon Byeong-Jun started to control the tempo and Dario Dakic was drawn into a foul on the right.

 

Danny Claxton rose to meet the free-kick and his header across goal was met on the half-volley by Byeong-Jun as he hammered the ball into the back of the net in the 42nd minute. 

 

It gave Ceres a 2-0 lead as the Bacolod based team scored two goals for the first time in the tournament so far.

 

Ceres almost went 3-0 up moments later as Jayson Panhay ghosted past his marker to meet a cross. His header hit the bar and was cleared behind for a corner, though, saving Kaya’s blushes somewhat. It also kept them within sight of Ceres to try and make a comeback in the second half.

 

Second half

 

Kaya started the second half brightly looking to come back into the Semi Final match. OJ Porteria weaved his way past two defenders and got to the byline before laying the ball back for Chris Greatwich, laxly marked in the center. 

 

The Azkals’ midfielder swept the ball into the back of the net to bring Kaya one goal behind Ceres and the score to 2-0 in the 51st minute.

 

Chris Greatwich almost latched onto a lobbed, through pass shortly after but the Ceres goalkeeper, Jan Hun Hyeon, was out quicker to stab the ball past him and collect it at the second attempt. 

 

The referee then gave Ceres a free-kick as Greatwich headed the ball out of the keeper’s hand, given that the keeper was only holding the ball with one hand. 

 

Newer FIFA rules, however, are more confusing as while the keeper is in control of the ball if it’s in one hand, as the keeper was not in the process of releasing the ball the official rules are somewhat ambiguous as to whether that is an offense or not in the modern game. 

 

The referee gave a free-kick though, much to Chris Greatwich’s dismay, as he pleaded with the referee saying that the keeper was only holding it in one hand.

 

Jay Baguiro then came on for Jayson Panhay for Ceres in the 64th minute but Kaya began to dominate the possession and chances but they just lacked that final quality in front of goal. Antonio Ugarte then came in for Nate Burkey as Kaya looked for some fresh legs to equalize.

 

However Kaya seemed to tire and Ceres got back into the game. Yoon Byeong-Jun almost got on the end of a Joshua Beloya cross before John Bolo came in for Peter Long as Ceres looked to protect their lead. 

 

A minute later and Ceres had the chance to create a bigger lead to protect as Yoon Byeong-Jun beat his man, Masa Omura, with a stepover, but the Kaya defender simply hacked down his man to give away a penalty.

 

Just before the penalty Jiggs Cruz replaced Jim Munoz for Kaya ,but coming onto the pitch he immediately found the team 3-1 down in the 81st minute as Gun Hee Choi calmly slotted the penalty into the top corner sending Saba Sadeghi the wrong way.

 

Hanesih Anthony replaced Joshua Beloya, who was instrumental in midfield, and as Ceres ran down the clock they completed a trio of very impressive victories by defeating the League runners up in Kaya. 

 

After defeating Stallion and Global both by one goal to nil, Ceres have more than proved themselves a worth representative of Bacolod.  

 

Ceres in the Final but will they join the UFL?

 

Ceres’ performances against the best teams the UFL has to offer has fueled talk of the team joining the UFL. The addition of the provincial side would be a big boost to Philippine football as the UFL would expand further afield and collect the best talents in the country. 

 

According to some reports Ceres were looking at joining the UFL depending on their results in this tournament, and so based on their great success so far they may well consider the move.

 

However current rules would suggest that the team would have to navigate their way through the UFL Second Division, something which should prove little challenge to a team boasting wins against the best the First Division has to offer. 

 

It would be an expensive foray though and whether the club would be willing to invest the time and money to go through the Second Division will remain to be seen.

 

Whatever happens, Ceres have made a name for themselves in the capital as they march on to the final of the 2013 PFF National Club Championships to face Pasargad, who beat the Green Archers on penalties in the other Semi Final. 

 

The final will be scheduled for next weekend at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.  — ELR, GMA News