Match Report: Ceres-Negros 5-0 Tampines Rovers

Ceres-Negros FC sizzled hot on a cold Tuesday night to maul Tampines 5-0 last March 7
at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod. Bienvenido Maranon scored a brace while Ian Ramsay,
Manny Ott, and Fernando Rodriguez added one apiece.

The Negros-based squad started early with Ramsay producing a stunner in the 1st minute
by curling a half-volley towards the top corner. He would then try minutes later after
picking a loose ball at the edge of the box but his strike was well wide. Tampines
would then settle defensively, at times having six men at the back with Ceres
controlling the tempo in midfield in the early going.

The Singaporean squad conjured a chance in the 20th minute with a header towards goal
but Roland Muller was there to save the chance. Ryutaro Megumi broke free from the
right with a full path towards goal but Super Herrera was there for a tackle forcing a
goal kick for Ceres. It was a day for opposites defensively in the 24th when Izwan
Mahbud prematurely rushed off his line to the dismay of Mustafic Fahrudin who nodded
the ball his way. Maranon would collect and shoot the ball in the open net for Ceres’
second.

A brilliant individual effort from Manny Ott in the 38th minute saw him evade the
defense before unleashing a stunner from the edge of the box to make it 3-0 for Ceres.
Ramsay almost made it four in the 41st but his attempted Rabona was over the bar.The
S-League Runners-up would try to take one back in the final minutes of the half with
Madhu Mohana and Ivan Djoni getting good chances but they missed their marks. The half
ended with a commanding 3-0 lead for the home squad.

The Busmen picked up where they left off in the second half with Rodriguez producing a
left footed shot which hit the side netting in the 46th. Yasir Hanapi would produce a
free kick from 30 yards but Muller was on the other end to collect. Ott would try to
recreate his first goal but his shot was a foot over the bar. Singapore veteran Khairul
Amri hit one from the edge but Muller was again there for the save.

Junior Munoz won the ball in the middle of the park and streaked to the right and
delivered a cross towards Maranon whose shot to the bottom corner was cleared in time
by Tampines. Moments later, Amri would set-up Megumi with a one-on-one with Muller but
the Filipino International would produce a superb save to keep the clean sheet. Ceres
would get their own 1v1 with Ramsay setting up a a ball towards Bienve who made no
mistake and puts another one past Mahbud for Ceres’ fourth.

Ceres would complete the scoring in the 72nd with Ott lobbing to Jeffrey Christaens on
the left, with the defender issuing a superb cross towards Rodriguez who redirects the
ball towards goal to make it 5-0. With the high scoreline, both teams performance
tapered of in the final twenty minutes until the final whistle.

The Bacolod squad registered their first win in the AFC Cup, putting them first place
in Group G with four points. They are followed by Tampines with three, Hanoi with two
and Felda United with one. Felda United and Hanoi finished with a 1-1 draw in Shah Alam
in an earlier match. The win was also a welcome result for the 8,000 strong capacity
crowd in the Pana-ad Stadium. Ceres-Negros will host Felda United on March 15 for their
third Group stage match.

Photos from Stephen Tan