AFTER THE GAME. Ceres-Negros assistant coach Ronald Ian Treyes (right) with 'Man of the Match' Mike Ott during the post-game press conference in Bacolod City Wednesday night (April 4, 2018). (Photo by Nanette L. Guadalquiver)
BACOLOD CITY -- Ceres-Negros FC (Football Club) kicked off its Philippines Football League (PFL) campaign to retain its title by defeating Kaya FC Iloilo, 2-1 at home in Panaad Park and Stadium Wednesday night.
Kaya FC head coach Noel Marcaida described the result as “heartbreaking”.
“It’s a heartbreaking game. It’s a heartbreaking result like the last time we played against Ceres in the semifinals,” Marcaida said during the post-match interview.
Kaya FC’s Jordan Mintah delivered a goal in the 64th minute, but Ceres scored an equalizer from Filipino-German Manny Ott in the 75th.
In the 85th, Manny’s younger brother, Mike, smashed another goal to seal the win for Ceres.
“Coming into this game, we really wanted to have a different story, but it seems like we’ll be hearing the same story tomorrow. If we really wanted to go forward in this league and beat Ceres, we have to convert the chances we have,” Marcaida said.
“Despite the heartbreaking result, we’re looking forward to our second game against Ceres in Iloilo,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mike Ott, the “Man of the Match,” who played his first match with Ceres-Negros in the domestic league, said he was glad to win the difficult game against Kaya FC.
“Yes, it was my first game. I was looking forward to that. Kaya was a very hard team, but we worked the plan of our coach, we’re happy that we won the game,” he added.
Ceres-Negros assistant coach Ronald Ian Treyes said the future matches with Kaya FC would be interesting since the competition between their teams in the past season had always been tight, usually with only a single goal difference.
“Every time we meet, it’s always an interesting game,”Treyes said.
Ceres-Negros won the inaugural title of the PFL in 2017 after defeating Global FC Cebu.
Kaya FC, which then played for Makati, lost to Ceres-Negros in the semifinals to take the third spot.
In February this year, Kaya FC relocated to Iloilo, and now has the Iloilo Sports Complex as their homeground, marking the revival of the classic football rivalry between Iloilo and Negros.
Ceres-Negros, as the ASEAN Zonal champions of the 2017 Asian Football Confederation Cup, also plays in international matches.
It will face Cambodia’s Boeung Ket FC in Phnom Penh on April 1. (PNA)
