Azkals Reichelt, Guirado lift Ceres past Tatung FC in President’s Cup

(Updated 6:36am) Ceres La Salle FC earned a 2-0 win over Taiwanese club Tatung FC on Thursday at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod, to put the Philippine team in good position to advance to the next round of the AFC President’s Cup.

After two games, Ceres has four points after a win and a draw, tied with Turkmenistan side HTTU Asgabat, whom they’ll face on Saturday. Another draw would see both sides advance to the final stage in September.

The Starting XI of Ceres FC was only very slightly different from what they fielded versus Rimyonsgu of North Korea. Ceres FC Coach Cha Soungyooung only switched out Camelo Tacusalme for Marvin Angeles.

Keeper Louie Michael Casas started strong for Ceres FC, keeping his promise to bounce back from a mistake in the last game. His team however dominated the first 15 minutes of the game, with Carlie de Murga and Patrick Reichelt getting attempts in.

Tatung Company looked under siege, and at the 17th minute, Reichelt found his shot off a free kick from de Murga. Reichelt volleyed it in, making it 1-0 for the home team.

There was another chance for Ceres FC to score at the 24th minute, but a quick-thinking Tatung defender was brave enough to kick the ball away when his keeper was down. There was another good chance less than 10 minutes later when Ceres was awarded another free kick, but the ball hit the post and rattled off. These were followed by chance after chance for the home team, but Tatung Company’s keeper, Hsu Jen-Feng bailed them out time and again.

There were some attempts by Tatung Company in the last five minutes of the half, but only the attempt off a free kick at the 44th minute seemed to rattle Casas.

Only one minute was added in the first half, before the teams trooped to their dressing areas with Ceres FC toting a 1-0 lead.

There seemed to be no substitutions at the the half for either team. However, there was some confusion at the back for Ceres FC a little after the 50th minute. Casas spilled the ball but Jalsor Soriano was there for the block, keeping the sheets clean for the home team so far.

At the 55th minute, hometown boy Joshua Beloya came on for Carlie de Murga, to much adulation from the crowd. Angelo Marasigan Verheye had a decent attempt at the 60th minute but the ball went wide. Still, Ceres FC pressed on, looking for that elusive second goal and not content to just sit back and hold on to their lead.

Pesky Marasigan created problems for Tatung Company all game long. Marasigan seemed to work well with the Angeles twins, who both started the game. The twins seemed to confuse the yellow-clad players, forcing them to pass quickly but with very little direction.

As the game wore on, the players from Tatung Company began to look very tired. All three of the other teams in the group had complained of the weather change and it did seem extra humid in the stadium as the heavy rains in afternoon had even left a fine mist over the pitch.

At the 65th minute, Ceres FC saw another good attempt. Beloya charged down the middle and found Reichelt on his right, but Reichelt’s shot went straight to the keeper.

At the 77th minute, Jason Sabio came on for Marvin Angeles. Sabio immediately had a chance at goal a minute after he came in but the angle was too acute and the ball went over the goal. In the same minute, a header by Juani Guirado went straight to the Tatung Company keeper.

Five minutes later, yet another chance for Ceres FC was botched when Reichelt’s cross went over Beloya, who was right in front of the goal. Jayson Panhay, who was on the other side , was still too far out to get to it. A minute later, Panhay was subbed out for J. Baguioro.

And then came the second goal. At the 87th minute, Reichelt was fouled just at the edge of the box. Marasigan took the free kick and Juani made a diving header, torpedoing the ball into the back of the net, making it 2-0 for Ceres.

The match officials signaled three minutes of added time but the second goal had knocked the wind out of Tatung Company, allowing Ceres FC to romp away with the victory and the three points.

Tatung Company’s coach had praises for the Ceres FC team’s “good performance and good shooting power.”  Coach Chiang Mu-Tsai also added that they will still rely on the same tactics they used against Ceres in their last game on Saturday, versus North Korea’s Rimyongsu.

Tatung Company is clearly missing several of their key players who are part of their National Team. The Azkals had lost to the Chinese Taipei National Team in last year’s Peace Cup.

For his part, Ceres FC Team Manager Ali Rojas Go said that he wanted three goals but that two were good as well. He also said that trying to get the team right is still difficult, especially since they play a slightly different set of players in the UFL where they are now poised for promotion to the First Division.

Goal scorer Juani Guirado had apparently been sick earlier in the day and he thanked the team and the doctors who helped him get on his feet. He dedicated the win to their goalkeeper whom he called very brave, perhaps for accepting that he made a mistake in the first game. - AMD, GMA News