By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--Despite Ceres winning the UFL title almost two weeks ago, the club ended its season on a sour note.
Manila Jeepney pulled off the season's biggest upset right on the final night when it stunned Ceres, 2-1, on Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Nicolas Ferrer struck the game-winner for Jeepney in the 55th minute, but an own goal by Kim Sang-Min hurt Ceres' chances earlier in the match.
Five minutes after Jayson Panhay put Ceres on the board in the 25th minute, Kim failed to clear a Raymart Cubon free kick and instead headed the ball past Michael Casas that handed Jeepney the equalizer.
Ray Joyel then showed brilliance later in the first half, stopping the offense of the Azkals-laden Ceres squad. His impressive performance as Jeepney's goalie continued in the opening stages of the second half as he saved Cho Kyum-Son and Bienve Marañon's shots.
The breakthrough came for Jeepney as Koffi Kouassi found an open Ferrer for the dagger. Kouassi then broke past Ceres' defense and was all alone against Casas, but he failed to extend the lead in the 69th minute as his shot went off left.
Jeepney then found itself in the crossroads late in the match as Val Jurao was handed a direct red card for a hard foul on Martin Steuble in the 86th minute. Steuble, for his part in a mini-commotion that happened afterward, was slapped with a yellow card.
Marañon had one final chance to force the draw with less than a minute left in the game, but his potential equalizer barely missed the mark.
The match had no implication in the final standings as Jeepney, which was promoted from Division 2 like Ceres, stayed in seventh place, finishing the season with 16 points.
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