JOSE Elmer “O.J.” Porteria fired two goals as Ceres Negros cruised to a 2-0 victory over Stallion Laguna in the 2018 Philippines Football League at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City.
Ceres, the defending champion, remained on top of the standings with 38 points on 12 wins, two draws and two losses while Stallion slid to fourth place with 18 points on seven wins and seven losses.
Ceres had plenty of chances to take the lead early in the game Wednesday night but hits from Patrick Reichelt and Porteria were deflected by Stallion goalkeeper Benito Rosalia.
Stallion also had a golden chance to surge ahead but Ruben Doctora misfired. Ceres finally took the lead in the 34th minute with Porteria stepping in for the kick and calmly hitting the far right.
Ceres could have extended the lead but Porteria’s attempt was blocked by the defense. Stallion also nearly equalized the scores but Fitch Arboleda’s shot was collected by Ceres’ goalkeeper Toni Doblas.
The Busmen continued to pounce on the defense of Stallion until finally notching a 2-0 advantage in the 84th minute with Porteria redirecting to the far post a cross by Takumi Uesato.
“The players were much more prepared for this match since we had four days of rest from our last game,” said Ceres Negros head coach Risto Vidakovic. “However, we still had a lot of injuries.”
The teams will square off once again on Sunday, still at the Panaad Park and Stadium./PN
