Global bows to Tanjong in semis

MANILA, Philippines - Global’s dream run ended after it lost to Tanjong Pagar United, 1-2, in the Singapore Cup semifinals at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore Friday night.

Tanjong Pagar went on a fast start after Moroccan star Monsef Zerka scored twice, the first when he headed one home on the third minute and scored with a penalty conversion early in the second half for a 2-0 lead.

The Filipinos got some lease of life thanks to an own goal by Zerka on the 73rd before Tanjong Pagar practically parked the bus to shut down the former.

Tanjong Pagar, which also made it this far by eliminating another Phl club, Loyola Meralco Sparks, will thus advance to the finals.

“We are thankful for the chance to play in such a prestigious tournament and hopefully we can come back stronger the next time we play here,” said Global manager Dan Palami, who also manages Azkals.

“There were plenty of lessons learned from our experience and we hope to use it in future tournaments,” he added.

Global had all the chances to score other goals but Spanish striker Rufo Sanchez and Fil-German Jeffrey Christiaens couldn’t cash in on it.

“We’re obviously delighted to reach the semifinal, but it’s quite disappointing that we didn’t reach the final because I felt we were the better team over the two legs,” said Global coach Brian Reid.

“Unfortunately there were some big decisions that didn’t go our way. We never created enough chances to get us those goals. But the commitment and desire was there,” he added.    – Joey Villar