Dordoi ousts Global, books 2nd slot

CEBU CITY , Philippines   â€“ Forward Mirlan Murzaev sizzled with four goals as Dordoi of Kyrgyzstan thwarted Global FC, 6-1, and slammed the door on the Filipino club’s bid to qualify for the final round of the AFC President’s Cup last night at Cebu City Sports Center.

Fresh from his five-goal blitz in a 9-0 annihilation of Bhutan side Yeedzin, Murzaev was on target anew and punished the shaky goalkeeping and defense of Global as Dordoi overturned a 0-1 deficit and laid the groundwork for the win that ousted the Pinoys.

The Kyrgyz bets finished with seven points on two wins and a draw to rule the four-nation Group B qualifiers and book their seventh appearance in the President’s Cup. They were joined by Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) of Pakistan, which also tallied seven points following an 8-0 shutout of Yeedzin in the first match.

Global wound up with three points on one victory and two setbacks, cutting short its historic debut in the tournament for clubs from emerging Asian nations. Winless Yeedzin was fourth and last. 

Needing no less than a win to salvage a place in the final round, Global went charging and got rewarded in the ninth minute when Carli de Murga fired a low shot off a corner kick that went in to the delight of 4,625 supporters.

But celebrations proved short-lived as six minutes later, Murzaev got the ball off a failed clearance by Global keeper Moussa Sanogo and defender Ben Starosta and blasted it home for the equalizer.

Ten minutes after, Dordoi earned a penalty kick as Starosta was booked for a foul on David Bruce Tetteh inside the box. Murzaev took the  duty and deftly sent it in for a 2-1 lead.

The 23-year-old forward from Kochkor-Ata unloaded a 57th minute freekick that sailed past Sanogo and was at it again in the 64th when he kick fired it past sub keeper Ed Sacapaño off a failed clearance. Sub Islam Shamshiev (77th) and Tetteh (stoppage time) accounted for Dordoi’s other goals.

Despite the hard work from the attackers, Global failed to convert its scoring opportunities the rest of the way to kiss their campaign goodbye.

An odd thing happened in the game when Global keeper Sanogo left his post after collecting the ball to dribble all the way to the final third and join the Pinoys’ attack. This left the crowd gasping and shaking their heads  in disbelief.