MANILA, Philippines — Short-handed Global Cebu FC earned the distinction of being the first Philippine club to reach the finals of the Singapore Cup after progressing via a 2-1 win over Hougang United in the second leg of the semis Saturday night.
Darryl Roberts fired his second goal of the night at the 72nd minute to seal the deal for Global, which bucked the ejection of defender Dennis Villanueva and injuries to key players to pull off the feat in front of Hougang’s home supporters.
The People’s Club, which already missed the services of injured stars Misagh Bahadoran and Amani Aguinaldo prior to Villanueva’s banishment, won the two-leg series on aggregate, 4-3.
The Cebu-based squad earlier played Hougang to a 2-2 draw in the first leg with Roberts also accounting for a double.
Global will play Albirex Niigata for the title in November. Albirez stayed on track for a three-peat after edging Home United in the second leg, 2-1, for a 5-2 triumph on aggregate.
“Thirteen fit players, down to 10 men and we still pulled through with a win to become the first Filipino club in the Singapore Cup finals,” said skipper Patrick Deyto, who also played a part in setting up the marginal goal.