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| Misagh Bahadoran celebrates after tying the game. Mark Cristino/UFL |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--O.J. Clariño and Misagh Bahadoran brought Global back to life in the second half as the defending UFL champion held league-leading Ceres to a 2-2 stalemate in a pivotal Sunday night showdown at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Ceres appeared to be heading to a revenge of its lone loss of the season to Global after going for two early goals courtesy of Bienve Marañon and Manny Ott.
Marañon chipped in a 13th minute goal after eluding the Global backline. Patrick Deyto thought the ball will swiftly go over the bar, but it eventually went down inside the post and found the net.
Ott then drilled a free kick in seven minutes later to double the Ceres lead. The club would keep the edge for a full hour.
However, Clariño got one goal back for Global in the 61st minute as he followed up a Matthew Hartmann free kick that only hit the woodwork with a header past Michael Casas.
Global had late chances to steal the win from Ceres, but the club just failed to find the target.
In spite of barely missing out on the win, Global remained in contention for the championship after staying seven points behind Ceres in the league table. Global also moved up to fourth place, overtaking Stallion on goal difference.
Both Global and Ceres have five matches left in their respective league schedules.
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