Ceres eyes Asean AFC Cup finals

MANILA, Philippines — Ceres Negros FC guns for its third straight final in the Asean zone of the AFC Cup as it targets a road victory against Hanoi FC in the second leg of their semifinal battle tonight at Hang Day Stadium in the Vietnamese capital.

The Busmen were forced to a 1-1 draw at home in the opener last Tuesday, conceding a vital away goal to the VLeague titlists, but can overturn this result with a clinching win in the 7 p.m. fixture (8 p.m. in Manila) or at least a draw with two or more goals.

A scoreless stalemate will prove catastrophic as it will hand Vietnam the series via the away goal tiebreak.

“I think the game is still open but we have to fight until the very end to get the result in Hanoi,” said Ceres coach Risto Vidakovic.

The Busmen have shown their capability to overcome adversity and secure maximum points on hostile territory, as shown by their triumphs in all three matches on the road in the ongoing meet. One of them was a group stage showdown with Persijia Jakarta in Indonesia, where they rallied from two goals down to win, 3-2, in front of a partisan home crowd.