Games on March 7
(Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
7 p.m. – Beoungket Angkor vs Global
(Panaad Stadium, Bacolod City)
7:30 p.m. – Ceres vs Tampines
Global leaned on Misagh Bahadoran’s goal at home while Ceres-Negros split a point with a fancied rival overseas as the two clubs opened their respective AFC Cup campaigns last Tuesday.
Bahadoran struck late in the first half as Global defeated Myanmar’s Magwe at the Rizal Memorial Stadium while Ceres held Hanoi to a 1-all tie at the My Dinh Stadium in the Vietnamese capital.
With both results, Global and Ceres gave themselves positive to look ahead in their second stint in Asia’s second-tier competition.
Bahadoran showed why he was named as Mr. Football during the PSA Awards Night last Feb. 13 as he fired a shot to the roof of the net in the 39th minute, much to the delight of the sparse crowd in attendance.
The victory put Global in the early lead in Group F with Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darum Ta’zim, which rolled to a 3-0 victory over Cambodian side Beoungket Angkor in Johor Bahru.
Over in Hanoi, Ceres stunned the Vietnamese club in the 49th when Spaniard Bienvenido Maranon netted a rebound to break the scoreless tie.
However, Ceres lost the lead eight minutes when Hanoi tied it up courtesy of Nguyen Van Quyet’s left-footed volley.