By Paulo Loreto Lim
Ceres-Negros FC, in their climb to the top of the Philippines Football League (PFL) table, hosted league leaders FC Meralco Manila last night at the Panaad Park and Stadium, where the home club dominated, 6-0.
Unlike their prior match, where Ceres found themselves on the board after the first minute, the home team was challenged early with a fifth minute header by Meralco forward Connor Tacagni that overshot over the goal.
A few minutes later, midfielder Curt Dizon managed a couple volleys around the Ceres goal, which were all deflected.
Despite the early pressure, Ceres midfielder Bienvenido Marañón managed to get one past Meralco goalkeeper Nathanael Villanueva, putting the home side up 1-0 in the 22nd minute.
Six minutes later, Ceres defender Carli de Murga doubled the lead to 2-0.
In the 30th minute, while battling through a number of players in the face of the Meralco goal, Ceres striker Fernando Rodríguez managed to meet the back of the net, giving the home team a 3-0 advantage.
Ceres kept the momentum going when, in the 36th minute, following a deflection off a Meralco defender, Rodríguez earned a brace and gave the Negrense side a 4-0 advantage.
Following a rough foul on Marañón, a yellow card was shown to Meralco defender Milan Nikolić in the 42nd minute. Another yellow card was shown shortly after to Tacagni, following a foul on Ceres defender Junior Muñoz.
During halftime, the stadium commemorated the Cinco de Noviembre observance, or the Negros Revolution, by firing cannons.
Both Milan and midfielder Tahj Minniecon put up unsuccessful attempts for Meralco early in the second half. However, in the 54th minute, Rodríguez earned a hat trick, his second in consecutive matches, putting Ceres up 5-0.
Taking a seemingly more aggressive direction, Meralco substituted defender Neil Dorimon for midfielder Jake Morallo in the 57th minute. Ceres responded by switching out defenders, putting in Joshua Grommen for some fresh legs, replacing Muñoz.
In the 67th minute, Marañón earned a brace, making it a commanding 6-0 lead by Ceres.
The goal would end up being the final one of the match, with Rodríguez nearly scoring a poker, or four goals in one game, shortly after with his header flying over the crossbar in the 70th minute.
The win puts Ceres three points behind Meralco on the PFL table, with three games in hand and one more face-off scheduled between the two leading clubs later this month./PLL, WDJ