Singapore upends Ceres Negros

MANILA, Philippines — After blitzing through the opposition in first five games of the group stage, Ceres Negros FC bowed to a Singapore side Home United right on its turf and Busmen coach Risto Vidakovic said this should serve as lesson for his wards as they gear up for the AFC Cup knockout phase.

“Not the best moment but these things happen. We have to learn from this,” Vidakovic said after Ceres conceded a 0-2 loss to the Protectors in their final Group F game at Panaad Stadium Wednesday night. “We have to realize there’s no easy opponents, and we have to play and fight and run. In the second half, that wasn’t the case.”

Although they finished with identical 13 points after six games, the Busmen yielded the group win to Home based on head-to-head tiebreaker. Still, the Negros-based booters advanced to the KO stage for the second straight year, thanks to its 13 points and +14 goal difference, and will next face Myanmar’s Yangong United, the Group G winners, in the Asean zone semifinals.

The loss came as a shock as Ceres previously romped off with victories over Beong Ket Angkor, 9-0 and 4-0, Shan United, 2-0 and 1-0 against a 1-1 draw with Home in Singapore.

“I think we played very good football and had a good run, especially for the past two months, and made (club) history. But I have to understand the players, they are not machines, they get tired...But I believe in my players; this won’t change anything. We can learn from it,” said Vidakovic.