Philippines' club Ceres La Salle moved top of Group E in the AFC Cup after claiming a 2-1 victory over Tampines Rovers in Bacolod on Tuesday night.

First-half penalties from Bienvenido Maranon and Adrian Gallardo put the home side firmly in control at the break, although Billy Mehmet came off the bench to hand the visitors a lifeline in the 64th minute.

However, they were just unable to beat opposition keeper Louie Casas and his defence for a second time, enabling the hosts to hold out for maximum points at the Panaad Park and Stadium.

With the win, Ceres moved into first spot to complete a memorable evening for Philippines' clubs. Kaya FC went top of Group F after beating Singapore's Balestier Khalsa 3-0.

Once again, coach V. Sundramoorthy took a cautious and defence-minded approach away from home by leaving ex-Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant and exciting Canadian attacker on the bench, along with former A-League striker, Mehmet.

In what proved to be a tale of two halves, it was Ceres who made the brighter start and enjoyed plenty of possession early on, despite initially struggling to find a way past a well-organised Tampines backline.

But they were presented with the perfect opportunity to break the deadlock in the 20th minute when Stags' defender Kwon Jun was penalised for handball inside the box. Bienvenido Maranon made no mistake in sending Joey Sim the wrong way.

The visitors attempted to respond immediately. A Fazrul Nawaz header drew a fine save from Casas before they had a goal ruled out for offside.

But nine minutes later, it became 2-0. Once again, Tampines only had themselves to blame as a foul on Gallardo handed the hosts a second spot-kick. The Spaniard picked himself up and had no problem converting from 12 yards.

In a bid to inject more potency in the Stags' attack, V. Sundramoorthy brought on Mehmet and Webb at the break. And it didn't take much longer for their star import, Pennant, to follow them off the bench and onto the field.

Four minutes after the hour mark, the changes had the desired effect as Mehmet reduced the deficit. His deflected shot looped over a hapless Casas before finding its way into the back of the net.

By now, Tampines had gained the ascendancy and were genuinely threatening to find the equaliser as the game entered its closing stages. Webb and Kwon both spurned decent opportunities.

But the best chance came in the final minute when captain Fahrudin Mustafic was picked out unmarked inside the box by a Pennant delivery. Nonetheless, he could only send his header agonisingly wide, leaving Tampines to suffer their first loss of the campaign, relinquishing the Group E lead to their vanquishers.

Ceres La Salle: Louie Casas, Son Yong-chan, Juan Luis Guirado, Kim Sang-min, Carli de Murga (Marwin Angeles 86'), Manny Ott, Martin Steuble, Paul Mulders (Jason Sabio 68'), Patrick Reichelt, Bienvenido Maranon (Nate Burkey 84'), Adrian Gallardo.

Tampines Rovers: Joey Sim, Irwan Shah (Jordan Webb 46'), Noh Rahman, Fahrudin Mustafic, Kwon Jun, Shakir Hamzah, Yasir Hanapi, Izzdin Shafiq, Christopher van Huizen (Billy Mehmet 46'), Hafiz Abu Sujad (Jermaine Pennant 62'), Fazrul Nawaz.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by Gabriel Tan

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