Ceres upstages Myanmar in AFC

MANILA, Philippines — Ceres Negros FC, riding on OJ Porteria’s brace and Bienvenido Maranon’s penalty, slipped past Myanmar’s Shan United in the AFC Cup opener, 3-2, and atoned for its earlier flop in front of  supporters at Panaad Park and Stadium Tuesday night.

The Busmen seized a 2-0 lead in the first 45 minutes then fended off the Shan’s second-half fightback to secure the victory and redeem themselves from their shocking loss to another Burmese club the last time they played at home for the AFC Champions League Preliminaries.

“We had a game here three weeks ago that we lost and it really hurt us,” said Porteria, referring to the 1-2 defeat to Yangon United in the first round of the qualifiers for top-flight ACL last Feb. 5. “Our preparation before this match was to come out hard, play hard to win the game and I’m very proud of the boys for giving their all.”

Ceres’ winning start put it on top of the Group G table with three points, ahead of Indonesia’s Persija Jakarta and Vietnam’s Becamex Binh Duong, which settled for one point apiece after battling to a scoreless draw in their match over in Jakarta.

Porteria drew first blood from close range in the 19th minute and Maranon doubled it from the spot in the 37th as Ceres reaped the fruits of a dominant performance in the opening half. But the visitors came to life after the break and pulled one back on Sin Min Tun’s 51st minute strike, putting pressure on the home side.

Porteria, though, restored a two-goal spread in the 88th as he latched on a long ball and shot it past the Shan keeper before sub Ko Ko Cit pounced on a defensive miscue to make it 3-2 a minute later.