CERES Negros tries to take advantage of its home court magic as the Busmen fight for survival against FC Istiklol of Tajikistan in the the Asian Football Confederation Cup Inter-Zone semifinals tonight at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City.
The Busmen need a gargantuan effort in their 7:30 p.m. match as they try to recover from a 0-4 annihilation to Istiklol in the opener of their two-leg semifinals at the Hisor Central Stadium in Dushanbe last month.
It will be a daunting task for Ceres but it will try to lean on its Panaad magic, where the Busmen made a historic feat of becoming the first Philippine club to win the Asean Zone championship. They lost, 1-2, in the first leg but got back at Singapore’s Home United, 2-0, at Pana-ad.
Serbian Coach Risto Vidakovic will continue to pin his hopes on Spanish strikers Fernando Rodriguez and Bienvenido Marañon and Azkals mainstays Stephan Schrock and Luke Woodland.
Also on Vidakovic’s team are Iain Ramsay,Martin Steuble, Manny Ott, OJ Porteria, Carli de Murga, Kevin Ingreso and Goallie Roland Muller.
The winner will clash with either India’s JSW Bengaluru or North Korea’s April 25 in the Inter-Zone Finals on September 27 and October 18.