CERES Negros coach Risto Vidakovic said he is proud of his team for giving their best in their match against China’s Tianjin Quanjian in the 2018 AFC Champions League play-off round at the Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium.
“Obviously, we played against a much stronger team,” he said. “We expected something similar (from Tianjin’s game) today. I can be very proud of my players because they gave everything like they always do.”
Ceres Negros were on a handicap prior to the match as they had to eliminate both Shan United and Brisbane Roar in consecutive away games to reach the playoff which consisted of long travel periods and opposite conditions from Tianjin.
“We came from Australia just five days ago and had to arrange the travel to China. It was not easy because of the travels but I think the players responded on the pitch. We lost against a very strong opponent and I think they (Tianjin) deserve to win,” the former La Liga defender added.
The Busmen made Philippine club football history after reaching the penultimate qualifying match of Asia’s elite club competition.
During the match, French forward Anthony Modeste scored in the 18th and 57th minutes to lift Tianjin to a 2-0 win and cut short the Philippines’ Ceres Negros FC’s campaign.
Tianjin will now join Korean Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Hongkong’s Kitchee in Group E for the 2018 AFC Champions League.
To complete the group is the winner between Kashiwa Reysol of Japan and Thailand’s Muangthong United.
Despite the challenging preparation due to visa issues, the Filipino club displayed great performance before the Tianjin’s home crowd running some decent offense in the early minutes of the match.
The Chinese Super League squad showed their dominance with 60-40 ball possession, including four attempts on target against Ceres FC’s lone attempt.
The loss sent Ceres FC back home to defend its AFC Cup Asean Zonal crown. The Filipino club is in Group F alongside Singapore’s Home United, Myanmar’s Shan United and the winner of the ASEAN playoff between Boeung Ket Angkor of Cambodia and Lao Toyota FC of Laos.
Suiting up for the Vidakovic-mentored Ceres FC are keeper Toni Doblas, Junior Muñoz, Carli de Murga, Manuel Herrera, Jeffrey Christiaens Kevin Ingreso, Omid Nazari, OJ Porteria, Takumi Uesato, Stephan Schrock, Patrick Reichelt, Mike Ott, and Bienvenido Marañon. (HGD with reports from ceresfootball.com)