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| Curt Dizon and Ceres Negros found it hard to sneak into Yuki Ishihara and Stallion Laguna's defense. Art Enriquez/Stallion Laguna FC |
By Ivan Saldajeno
BINAN--Two matches into its Copa Paulino Alcantara campaign, Ceres Negros is now in an unfamiliar situation.
Negros, which has developed a winning culture since its foundation in 2012, suffered back-to-back 0-3 defeats at the hands of Davao and, just this Saturday, Laguna to begin their stint in the Philippines Football League's cup tournament, putting the reigning league champ in a 0-2 hole.
While Head Coach Risto Vidakovic somehow stressed last month that he will give his key players some rest and let his shock troopers take over in the Copa, his assistant, Interim Coach Ian Treyes, admitted he did not foresee this kind of start.
"It's very unlucky for the team," Treyes rued after Negros' painful defeat at the Binan Football Stadium.
[Related Story: Laguna opens Copa bid with rout of Negros]
While he said he already anticipated Laguna "will give 100 percent or more" in what has become a literal home game for the club following a schedule adjustment due to Typhoon Ompong, he further rued that the Azkals tour in Bahrain took a toll for some of Negros' vital cogs.
"Unfortunately, with our players--some of them came from a training camp in Bahrain, the preparation is not enough for this game," Treyes further said.
Good thing for Negros, it has a chance to get back at Laguna as their second round meeting will take place on Wednesday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
However, Negros will have two foreign players out as Spaniard Bienve Maranon will serve the tail end of his two-game ban due to a straight red card against Davao two weeks ago and Super Herrera will sit out the match due to two yellow cards he got in their first meeting.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
While Head Coach Risto Vidakovic somehow stressed last month that he will give his key players some rest and let his shock troopers take over in the Copa, his assistant, Interim Coach Ian Treyes, admitted he did not foresee this kind of start.
"It's very unlucky for the team," Treyes rued after Negros' painful defeat at the Binan Football Stadium.
[Related Story: Laguna opens Copa bid with rout of Negros]
While he said he already anticipated Laguna "will give 100 percent or more" in what has become a literal home game for the club following a schedule adjustment due to Typhoon Ompong, he further rued that the Azkals tour in Bahrain took a toll for some of Negros' vital cogs.
"Unfortunately, with our players--some of them came from a training camp in Bahrain, the preparation is not enough for this game," Treyes further said.
Good thing for Negros, it has a chance to get back at Laguna as their second round meeting will take place on Wednesday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
However, Negros will have two foreign players out as Spaniard Bienve Maranon will serve the tail end of his two-game ban due to a straight red card against Davao two weeks ago and Super Herrera will sit out the match due to two yellow cards he got in their first meeting.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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