CERES Negros suffered a stinging 0-2 defeat at the hands of JPV Marikina in the 2018 Philippines Football League on Saturday night at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City.
Goals from Ilonggo J Baguioro and Kennedy Uzoka propelled JPV past the defending champion and avenged their 1-4 loss to the Negrenses last Wednesday.
Ceres started on the wrong foot ā goalkeeper Louie Casas was handed a red card in the 32nd minute after an intentional hand ball outside of the box.
The Busmen were then forced to remove Japanese striker Takumi Uesato from the floor and insert Negrense goalkeeper Eduardo Sacapano, reducing the squad to 10 men.
Despite being undermanned, Ceres had opportunities to gain the lead, but Kevin Ingreso and Stephan Schrock failed to convert attempts from inside the box.
JPV finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the 61st minute as Baguioro shook off his defender at speed and shot past Sacapano. The lead was nearly doubled but Baguioro fumbled on his attempt in the 70th minute.
With Ceres unable to get a decent attempt due to the tight defense of JPV, the latter put the final nail in the coffin for the Busmen at the 90th minute on a lob by Uzoka.
āWe already had lots of injuries, and then we were down to 10 men. Itās very hard but the players did everything they can,ā said Ceres head coach Risto Vidakovic.
Even with the defeat, Ceres remained on top of the standings with 35 points on 11 wins, two draws and two losses while JPV is on fifth place with 13 points on four wins, one draw and 10 losses./PN
