Global rips Ceres, claims UFL crown

MANILA, Philippines – Global FC marked its return to the top with an emphatic 3-1 triumph over Ceres-La Salle in their titanic duel for the United Football League (UFL) Cup Saturday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Skipper Misagh Bahadoran scored twice and assisted Matt Hartmann for the third goal as the People’s Club outdueled its powerhouse rival and got back at the helm after a fruitless campaign in both the Cup and League tournaments in 2015.

“When you finally win something then it’s doubly special. At last I can say we are back with the silverware, one of the two we intend to win this year,” said team owner Dan Palami, looking forward to the next UFL League play.

Global, which was suspended in Cup play last year due to eligibility issues, earned a slot in the Asian Football Confederation Cup next year. This is the same tournament where Ceres is currently competing in and holding the lead in Group E.

“We’re happy to win against a strong team like Ceres who’s on top of their group in the AFC Cup. They ply their trade in Asia so to beat them here domestically is something we’re quite proud of,” said Palami.

Bahadoran struck at the 21st minute, scoring on a follow up after Ceres keeper Michael Casas stopped the initial effort. Three minutes later, Bahadoran delivered the ball to Hartmann, who gamely tapped it in to double Global’s upperhand.

The Fil-Iranian broke away from his defenders to make it 3-nil in the 55th minute following a controversial non-call that left Ceres fuming and complaining no end.

Prior to Bahadoran’s second goal, the Busmen vehemently protested the referee’s decision to waive play on despite what appeared to be a handball committed by Global’s Daisuke Sato on Patrick Reichelt’s header on goal. Ceres coach Ali Go was eventually sent off for continuous complaining.

Nate Burkey put Ceres on the scoreboard in the 69th but Global held on to secure its first UFL Cup since 2010.

“You can see the quality (of Ceres). If you relax for a minute, they’ve got the potential to score, so for us to…dominate the first half, (that says a lot),” said Ceres coach Leigh Manson. “But they came and you’ve got to tip your hats off to them because we were hanging on a little bit in the middle period of the second half, but we managed to see out the game.”

Bahadoran was later awarded the Golden Ball for being the MVP of the tourney.

“I led the team to the right direction that’s why we won the title. Everyone wanted to win (the Cup),” said the Azkals mainstay.

Ceres, which played its third game in two weeks, vowed to bounce back after this wakeup call.

“Now we have more conviction to win the League. We have to prove something now because before this game, they think we don’t have to prove anything; we’re the strongest and we’ve been winning even AFC Cup games. Now at least that will bring us back to the ground, work harder, play better and come out stronger in the coming League,” said Go.