Ceres-La Salle seeks vital win vs Chinese-Taipei

Matches today (Panaad Stadium)

5 p.m. – Rimyongsu vs FC HTTU

7:30 p.m. – Tatung vs Ceres-La Salle

MANILA, Philippines - After its confidence-boosting draw with fancied North Korean club Rimyongsu, host club Ceres-La Salle FC seeks a victory tonight against Tatung of Chinese-Taipei as it chases history in the Asian Football Confederation President’s Cup Group B qualifiers at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

Ceres gave a good account of itself in Tuesday’s opener when it held contender Rimyongsu to a fighting draw, 2-2, and it hopes to draw momentum from this to try to get the full three points against Tatung (0-0-2) in the 7:30 p.m. match and close in on a historic berth to the final round.

“We  got the respect of the other teams (with our performance) and gave the home crowd something to be happy about. But our job is not finished yet,” said Ceres owner Leorey Yanson.

The home club was on the backfoot against Rimyongsu most of the way but made the most out of their scoring chances, with Juani Guirado connecting off a free kick in the first half and Patrick Reichelt delivering a curling strike early in the second.

Guirado and Reichelt’s goals forced the North Koreans to rally twice to salvage a stalemate. Ri Kwang-hyok bagged a brace to save the day for the debuting Rimyongsu.

Tatung is fighting for dear life against Ceres after absorbing a 0-2 setback to HTTU Asgabat on Day 1.

“We understand the importance of the game and we want to bounce back and play better,” said Ceres skipper Michael Casas, who had a number of excellent saves against Rimyongsu but was somehow culpable for North Korea’s second goal.

Ceres coach Ali Go said they can afford to play more offensive this time but still have to maintain a compact defensive line.

“We cannot look past Tatung. We want to attack more but stay disciplined on defense at the same time,” said Go.

Group B leader HTTU Asgabat (3 points on 1-0-1) can virtually clinch a berth in the next round with a game to spare if it hurdles Rimyongsu (one point on 0-1-0) in the 5 p.m. first match.