Game Tuesday
(Brisbane, Australia)
5 p.m. – Brisbane Roar vs Ceres
Ceres-Negros survived the first stage of its quest to qualify for the AFC Champions League Wednesday after edging Shan United, 4-3, on penalties after their preliminary stage ended at 1-1 in extra time at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.
Carli de Murga, Stephan Schrock, Mike Ott and Bienvenido Maranon scored in the shootout even as Shan missed two attempts, including the last when William Nyakwe’s shot was off-target to seal the Busmen’s place in the next phase of the qualifiers.
The Busmen will have their work cut out on Tuesday when they face the Brisbane Roar on the road, needing a victory to arrange a match with Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian for a spot in the Champions League.
Brisbane was the same club that dealt Global-Cebu a 6-0 defeat in last year’s second stage of the Champions League qualifiers.
A loss in either round will relegate the Philippines Football League champion to the AFC Cup where it is assured of a slot in Group F together with Shan, Singapore’s Home United and Cambodia’s Boeungket Angkor.
No Filipino team has ever reached the Champions League, Asia’s premier club tournament.
