THIS headline from an online news article caught my eye: “PHL team Ceres Negros edges Myanmar’s Yangon United at first AFC Cup game.”
To the casual reader, the headline suggests that Ceres Negros FC barely won over visitors Yangon United in the first leg of their Asean Zonal semifinals match in Bacolod City last week.
But the 4-2 scoreline speaks for itself.
Besides, by definition, to “edge” means to “defeat by a small margin,” and in the world of football, a two-goal margin, though not huge, is hardly small.
And therein lies the real story as the busmen face Yangon this afternoon in the second leg in Myanmar: the host club couldn’t be happier going into a match with two crucial away goals from a lost game in which they were pummeled most of the time.
Yangon isn’t the strongest team in the tournament, but it definitely is dangerous and unpredictable. Who would have thought that the Burmese club would top Group G and eliminate last year’s semifinalist Global Cebu FC?
In the group stage, Yangon racked up 15 goals, while Ceres netted 17 in Group F.
That means the hosts can match Ceres in terms of goalscoaring, and that the visitors’ 4-2 lead coming into the second leg is hardly safe.
On the other hand, Yangon’s defense has leaked one goal too many: nine goals conceded in the group stage plus four more in the semifinals. The Yangon back four is a yawning weakness Ceres can exploit, especially that the hosts will now have to go all out to advance.
But if there’s a team that can put a chink in the Ceres armor, it’s Yangon.
Consider that in the group stage, Ceres conceded only three goals in all six matches, but Yangon only needed less than 90 minutes to score two scrappy goals against the formidable busmen in Panaad.
Further, those two crucial away goals might be something that Ceres would regret having conceded. And now, with the hometown crowd behind them at the Thuwanna Stadium, Yangon can turn the semifinals around. And guess, what?
Yangon is unbeaten on home soil. At the onset I thought Yangon was easy prey. After that first leg, I’m now having second thoughts. So the question now is this: would Ceres edge and survive the hosts, or would the headlines scream “Yangon FC pulls off amazing comeback”?