Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Padang: Liberian striker Edward Junior Wilson took his AFC Cup tally to eight with a superb double as unbeaten Group E winners Semen Padang downed India’s Churchill Brothers 3-1 on Wednesday.
Wilson opened the scoring with a superb solo goal midway through the first half for the Indonesian Premier League champions at Agus Salim Stadium before Titus Bonai’s free-kick doubled Semen’s lead at the start of the second half after Naveen Kumar had been sent-off for the visitors.
And after Bineesh Balan pulled a goal back for Churchill Brothers, another eye-catching solo effort from Wilson sealed Semen’s fourth win of the campaign as Jafri Sastrak’s wrapped up an unbeaten record in the group stage ahead of their home tie with Vietnam’s SHB Da Nang in the last 16 in two weeks’ time.
“It was a good result for us today and I am very happy with my team because we did not lose any games during the group stage,” said Semen coach Sastrak.
“I must thank my players who showed good spirit and also thank the management and our fans who have supported us well in every, home or away.
“For the next stage, we hope we can get a good result against Da Nang. We know that they are a very good team but we still have a lot of motivation for our next game and we are hopeful of getting a good result then.”
Despite Semen already having secured their place in the last 16 as Group E winners following an impressive maiden AFC Cup campaign, the home side dominated for long periods of the first half against already-eliminated Churchill Brothers with captain Ellie Aiboy, Vendry Mofu, Wilson and Bonai all coming close to a breakthrough for the home side.
And after 24 minutes Semen were finally rewarded as Wilson skipped past several Churchill Brothers defenders on the edge of the penalty area before guiding a low strike into the bottom corner past goalkeeper Thapa Lalit.
Semen’s chances were further boosted just three minutes into the second half as Churchill Brothers defender Kumar was shown a straight red card after bundling over Mofu just outside the penalty area with the midfielder attempting to chase down a hopeful long ball forward.
And from the resulting free-kick, Bonai doubled Semen’s lead as the striker expertly guided the ball over the wall and past Lalit.
Churchill Brothers, though, responded just three minutes later as Balan beat Semen goalkeeper Fakhrurrazi to Yumnam Raju’s low left wing cross to poke the ball into the back of the net at the near post.
But 15 minutes later another superb solo effort from Wilson restored Semen’s two-goal advantage as the Liberian cut in from the right side of the penalty area before coolly guiding his shot across Lalit and into the net via the inside of the far post.
Churchill Brothers, though, were unfortunate not to set-up a tense final 10 minutes as a free-kick from captain Jaison Vales crashed into the face of the crossbar with Semen goalkeeper Fakhrurrazi rooted to the spot.
“It was a good match. We had a lot of chances and Semen Padang also had a lot of chances but we didn’t make the most of our opportunities while Semen did,” said Churchill Brothers coach Mariano Dias
“After the red card, our players actually had more spirit and we managed to put them under some pressure and scored a goal with 10 men.
“But congratulation to Semen Padang. They have done well in this group and I think that they can go quite far in this year’s AFC Cup.”
Photo: WSG