Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bacolod City: Adrian Gallardo scored a hat-trick as tournament debutants Ceres La Salle of the Philippines progressed to the last 16 of the AFC Cup as Group E winners after a 5-0 victory over Bangladesh’s Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club on Tuesday.
Spaniard Bienvenido Maranon opened the scoring at Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium on seven minutes before his fellow countryman Gallardo’s blistering strike put the hosts two up just a minute later.
The in-form forward then notched a further two within 20 minutes of the restart before Patrick Reichelt wrapped up the scoring on 70 minutes as Ceres maintained their unbeaten record ahead of the knockout phase.
“We’re very happy to make history and this is a very good result,” said Ceres coach Franklin Muescan. “Everything we did in training came out well in this match.
“We prepared really well, but the big factor was losing in the league [two weeks ago]; that was an eye-opener for us.
"We knew we needed to address some problems on the pitch and we realised that it was all about hard work and commitment. We knew we would be successful if we prepared well.”
Needing victory to guarantee their qualification as group winners, Ceres attacked from the off against already-eliminated Sheikh Jamal.
And the early pressure paid off when Maranon’s thunderous drive from just outside the area opened the scoring in the seventh minute after the visitors had failed to clear Manny Ott’s corner from the right.
Ceres then doubled their lead two minutes later with Gallardo directing the ball to the bottom corner after Reichelt’s centre to put the hosts in firm control.
The visitors almost pulled a goal back just before half-time, but captain Wedson Anselme’s curling free-kick rattled the left post.
Sheikh Jamal then had another effort on goal within 10 minutes of the restart, but Jewel Rana saw his chip from Anselme’s pass gathered by goalkeeper Casas Roble.
And Gallardo made it 3-0 shortly after with another tap-in after superb play from Reichelt on the right.
Then in the 64th minute the Spaniard completed his first treble of the tournament, and eighth goal overall, when he latched on to a headed ball from Reichelt to finish after indecision in the Sheikh Jamal defence.
Gallardo then turned provider for Reichelt with a lovely reverse pass into the box before the Philippines international controlled well and rifled home to complete a resounding scoreline.
“This was our worst game,” said Sheikh Jamal coach Shafiqul Islam Manik. “The players were too tired from the journey and were not good enough.
“You could see it in their body language; if they were mentally prepared they could have played well. With our fitness level it was impossible to play for 90 minutes.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports