Stags ripped apart by rampant Ceres
| CERES NEGROS | TAMPINES ROVERS |
| 5 | 0 |
| (Iain Ramsay 1, Bienvenido Maranon 24, 65, Manny Ott 38, Fernando Rodriguez 72) |
Tampines Rovers coach Juergen Raab was at a loss to explain his side's collapse in the 5-0 defeat by Philippine side Ceres Negros last night.
"Everything went wrong for us in this match," said the German, after their AFC Cup Group G match at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.
The Stags, runners-up in last season's S.League, got off to the worst possible start when they fell behind after just 31 seconds.
Filipino-Australian midfielder Iain Ramsay put Ceres in front with a superb volley from outside the box which swerved beyond the reach of goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud and into goal.
Tampines had a golden chance to equalise, but Mustafic Fahrudin failed to get on the end of Yasir Hanapi's corner kick.
The miss proved costly, as Spanish forward Bienvenido Maranon doubled Ceres' lead in the 24th minute, taking advantage of a defensive mix-up by Izwan, Fahrudin and Daniel Bennett to finish into an empty goal.
Manny Ott then lashed home a third for Ceres seven minutes before half-time, sending an unstoppable shot crashing in off the underside of the crossbar.
Tampines poured forward in search of goals in the second half, but Khairul Amri and Ryutaro Megumi were denied by German-born goalkeeper Roland Muller.
MISERY
Maranon and Fernando Rodriguez then scored to complete a miserable night for the Stags.
"It started with a fantastic goal in the first minute... and then a big mistake for the second goal, and another fantastic shot for their third goal," said Raab.
"That happens in football... It was difficult to come back, but we had chances to score.
"If we had scored and pulled back to 3-1 or 3-2, then maybe we had a chance (of pulling off a comeback).
"But we were open for Ceres, and they could do what they wanted. It was not a nice night for us."
In the other Group G match, Felda United and Hanoi FC drew 1-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium.
Ceres top Group G with four points from two games, while Tampines are second on three points.
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