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| KC Cruz/UFL |
By Kevin Estrada
MANILA--Matthew Hartmann became a hero for Global as the club came from a goal down to stun Ceres, 2-1, to start the final week of the UFL Cup group stages Thursday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The former Loyola enforcer shoved the 2011 Cup winner ahead with a left-footed grounder with thirteen minutes to go as his goal and Milan Nikolic's first half equalizer negated the early strike of Martin Steuble to end its Group B campaign tied with its victim with 12 points.
With the win, Leigh Manson's men ended the battle locking in the second spot, making Loyola and Green Archers United's final matches of the campaign irrelevant in terms of the race for second.
"What we need this year is consistency," said the Scottish coach after the match as his team takes a break after the group stage.
He also credited Global's last two wins against Loyola and Ceres to the players' fighting heart despite being behind early.
Despite the loss, Ali Go's booters remain on top of Group B with a superior goal difference, but they extended their winless streak against Global to four matches dating back from last season, in which their last win against the two-time league champion came in the FA League Cup Final in 2014.
Global showed its dominance in this match with more possessions, more corners, and three more shots than Ceres.
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