GLOBAL Cebu FC beat Ceres Negros FC, 2-0, in the last Philippine Football League (PFL) elimination round match on Tuesday night, November 28, at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
Spanish striker Rufo Sanchez hit the early goal with a volley in the seventh minute of regulation. Misagh Bahadoran scored the second goal with a long range shot in the 33rd minute.
Both teams, however, played safe and didn't play all out to avoid injuries before moving on to the two-legged semifinals.
"I'm happy that we had no suspensions. The foremost thing in my mind was toncome here with no suspensions and injuries. We have one eye at the semis and the most important thing is everyone is healthy," said Global Cebu FC head coach Akbar Nawas.
Nawas rested some of his key players like Wesley Dos Santos, Paolo Bugas and Dominic del Rosario. But still played its stars like Rufo, Patrick Deyto, Hikaru Minegishi, Darry Roberts and skipper Misagh Bahadoran.
"We rested some of our players especially those that were involved in the Singapore Cup. I gave our local boy John Roy a go, and some of our reserves," said Nawas.
After the crowd jeered at the match going into halftime, the mood changed after finally seeing homegrown John Roy Melgo coming in for Paolo Salenga in the beginning of the second half.
Risto Vidakovic also sat out key players like Roland Muller and Martin Steuble, and played mostly its second stringers.
"The most important thing is to keep the players safe before the semis. Before the game we had three players suspended. We made do with the circumstances. It's a chance for our younger players to play. The good thing is nobody got injured, everybody is safe, and we are now focused on the semis," said Vidakovic.
There is no exact date yet on the semifinal schedules. Global Cebu FC is up against No. 1 ranked FC Meralco Manila, while No. 2 seed Ceres Negros FC is taking on Kaya FC-Makati. (EKA)