MANILA – Ceres-Negros FC makes a return trip to the ASEAN Zonal semifinals after a 5-0 drubbing of Shan United on Myanmar in the 2019 AFC Cup group stage in Yangon, Myanmar.
Spanish striker Bienvenido Marañon completed a hat trick on Wednesday night while Carlos de Murga and Jose Elmer Porteria added a hit each.
Now with 15 points, Ceres-Negros secured the top spot of Group G.
Despite missing the services of their suspended mentor Risto Vidakovic, Ceres-Negros was still all business. It broke the scoreless draw midway in the first half when Marañon slided the ball past Shan United’s Phone Thitsar Min.
That lead was doubled when Zwe Thet Paing took down Manny Ott just inside the penalty area before the break, with Marañon easily sending home the penalty to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Ceres-Negros’ dominance continued when Marañon secured a hat trick – a tidy finish inside the area after the defense denied the visiting team’s early try in the second half.
But Ceres-Negros did not stop there; it collected two more conversions – a header from de Murga and a nice strike from substitute Porteria to complete their wipeout on the Burmese.
Ceres-Negros will cap off their group stage match when they take on Becamex Binh Duong on Vietnam on May 15 at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City./PN
