As they kept their clean slate alive, Ceres-Negros FC needed to go down the wire against Persija Jakarta to win away from home and sweep the opposition in their Group G encounters.
The match had a bit of twist and turns when it was initially announced that it will be played behind closed doors as a directive from the Indonesian Police due to the ongoing elections in the country.
Come kick-off, the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium saw thousands of fans coming in and Jakmania, the club’s ultras, made their way into the match.
The busmen were tested early in the match as a penalty was given in favor of the home side. Bruno Matos stepped up to the plate but Roland Muller denied the hosts the opening goal.
World class save by Ceres Negros goal keeper Roland Muller! 👌#AFCCup2019 #AFCCuponESPN5 pic.twitter.com/FjATTIZn2o
— ESPN5 (@Sports5PH) April 23, 2019
It was a close battle between the two during the first half but all of it unfolded after half-time. Four minutes after the restart of the second half, Sandi Darma Sute put the home side in the lead after a lovely header from the free kick.
49′ GOAL! 1-0 @Persija_Jkt
Sandy Sute attacks the inch perfect free kick delivery and heads home at the near post!#PSJvCER #AFCCup2019 pic.twitter.com/DIgK0Nl0x6
— FOX Sports LIVE! (@FSAsiaLive) April 23, 2019
It didn’t took long for the Kemayoran Tiger to double their lead as Matos broke through the defense from a free kick and slotted the ball past Rolan Muller on the eight minutes after the opener sending the Persija Jakarta faithful in pandemonium.
57′ GOAL! 2-0 @Persija_Jkt
Another set piece, another Persija goal! Bruno Matos atones for his penalty miss earlier by doubling the lead!#PSJvCER #AFCCup2019 pic.twitter.com/pippIQwHra
— FOX Sports LIVE! (@FSAsiaLive) April 23, 2019
Ceres’ head coach Risto Vidakovic needed some re-shuffling of his men to either level things up or just crawl back into the game. He injected Mahir Karic and former Kaya FC-Iloilo standout Miguel Tanton into the game giving them the much-needed boost.
63′ Karic and Tanton comes in for Porteria and Ingreso
— Ceres-Negros FC (@CeresNegrosFC) April 23, 2019
They wasted no time in getting their groove on the match as Karic slalomed past the defenders a few minutes after his introductions before passing it to Omid Nazari but his efforts gone past the crossbar.
68′ Karic fakes a defender on the wings before releasing to Nazari whose shot is off target #AFCCup2019 #PSJvCER
— Ceres-Negros FC (@CeresNegrosFC) April 23, 2019
They found a lifeline on the 70th minute when Tanton stepped up to the plate and took the free kick. The 29-year old midfielder swung the ball into the box and found the lucky bounce he needed to find the back of the net and give them the chance to get back into the game.
70′ GOAL! 1-2 @CeresNegrosFC
Miguel Tanton floats the free kick into the box and it somehow goes all the way in!
20 minutes to go…GAME ON!#PSJvCER #AFCCup2019 pic.twitter.com/vTNVARRhu4
— FOX Sports LIVE! (@FSAsiaLive) April 23, 2019
After getting a goal back, the busmen continued their push for the equalizer and hopefully, silence the rabid Jakmania. On the 76th minute, Karic dribbled past the defense and seemed to be taken down inside the box only to see a yellow card for simulation from the referee.
76′ NO PENALTY!
Karic goes down in the box under a challenge and gets booked for diving! 🙈#PSJvCER #AFCCup2019 pic.twitter.com/oBQRdMHhgR
— FOX Sports LIVE! (@FSAsiaLive) April 23, 2019
They then found the leveler on the 85th minute after Stephan Schrock found Ceres’ most dangerous striker Bienvenido Marañón. That goal puts him level with Ganiyu Oseni in the golden boot race with six goals.
85′ GOAL! 2-2 @CeresNegrosFC
The comeback is complete! Schrock puts the ball in and Maranon makes no mistake with the header!#PSJvCER #AFCCup2019 pic.twitter.com/YozirK7Ay9
— FOX Sports LIVE! (@FSAsiaLive) April 23, 2019
The final minutes of the match saw an opening for the busmen to take home all three points as Mike Ott slotted in the winner two minutes into the stoppage time to silence the rabid fans of Persija Jakarta.
90+2′ GOAL! 3-2 @CeresNegrosFC
Schrock delivers another fine cross into the box and Mike Ott gets ahead of his marker to score what should be the winner!
WOW WOW WOW!#PSJvCER #AFCCup2019 pic.twitter.com/IQbwDYXtX6
— FOX Sports LIVE! (@FSAsiaLive) April 23, 2019
With that victory, Ceres solidified pole position with 12 points and extended their winning streak to four before their final group stage match against Becamex Binh Duong on the 1st of May.
What a comeback!
Full Time: Persija Jakarta 2-3 Ceres-Negros#AFCCup2019 pic.twitter.com/hvf7sP15Yw
— Ceres-Negros FC (@CeresNegrosFC) April 23, 2019