Ceres Lasalle FC will have to juggle their lineup and traveling schedules for the tie on May 24 against South China FC. Aside from domestic league duties, they are also scheduled to compete in the Singapore Cup within the same week(May 22-29) although I am sure they will prioritize the AFC Cup when selecting their rosters.
So do South China. They have a tight schedule in the week before against Ceres. They will play with Pegasus FC for a local cup final on May 18 and the post season playoff on May 21 to compete for the slot of AFC Champions League qualification or AFC Cup group stage in 2017.
That looks like a pretty busy schedule indeed, with games before the AFC Cup tie. It only gives them 3 days to travel and recuperate prior to the game. I think that South China FC have a deep enough roster though to handle the tight schedule of games.
What if they don' qualify to the 2017 ACL? They go to AFC Cup or their continental season ends after 1-2 games?
Fortunately this match was scheduled on May 29(the last possible date) instead of earlier, which will give Ceres enough time to prepare for their AFC Cup tie on May 24 and then travel to Singapore to play the Young Lions. The other matches in the Singapore Cup preliminary round were scheduled earlier starting on May 26, 2 days after the AFC Cup tie.
Kuala Lumpur: The 2016 AFC Cup Round of 16 fixtures have been finalised following Friday's AFC Disciplinary Committee decision which related to the final standings in Groups C and D. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary Committee today decided to forfeit the cancelled matches between Ahli Al Khalil (PLE) vs Al Jaish (SYR) and Al Dharia (PLE) vs Al Wahda (SYR) in the AFC Cup. The fixtures between the two Syrian and Palestinian clubs, scheduled to be played on May 3 or 4, 2016 and May 11, 2016 respectively, did not take place, as the Palestinian clubs were not able to secure a neutral venue for each match. The Disciplinary Committee ruled that Ahli Al Khalil and Al Dharia were responsible for causing the cancellation of the matches. Both were fined and the fixtures forfeited, with the opposing teams, Al Jaish (pictured) and Al Wahda, awarded a 3-0 victory in both cases, as determined by the AFC Disciplinary Code. In a separate decision, the AFC Disciplinary Committee ruled today that JSW Bengaluru FC (IND) head coach, Ashley Westwood, is suspended for the team’s next four matches, as a result of using offensive and abusive language towards the referee during the team’s AFC Cup match against Lao Toyota FC (LAO) on April 27, 2016. The four-match suspension includes the automatic one-match suspension arising from his expulsion from the match. Westwood will serve the suspensions in the following AFC Cup 2016 matches: Johor Darul Ta’zim (MAS) vs JSW Bengaluru FC on May 11 (automatic suspension) and Kitchee (HKG) vs JSW Bengaluru FC on May 25, 2016. The remaining two matches will be served in a future AFC club competition, as stipulated by the AFC Disciplinary Code. Finally, Pakhtakor (UZB) player Kilichev Oybek was suspended for two matches, including the one-match automatic suspension, after being sent off in the AFC Champions League match between Pakhtakor and Al Jazira (UAE) on May 3, 2016. The suspension will be served in a future AFC competition. Both Westwood and Oybek also received a fine. http://www.the-afc.com/media-releas...6-final-standings-in-groups-c-and-d-confirmed AFC Cup 2016 - Round of 16 fixtures: Tuesday, May 24: Al Ahed FC v Al Wahda Air Force Club v Al Wehdat Ceres La Salle v South China Mohun Bagan v Tampines Rovers Wednesday, May 25 Nafit Al Wasat v Al Jaish Al Muharraq v Al Faisaly Kitchee v JSW Bengaluru FC Johor Darul Ta'zim v Kaya FC
If the league obtains any direct slot in the group stage of Champions League, the teams in qualification round will not go to AFC Cup group stage if they don't quality to ACL group stage. Just like the teams from A-League, Thai Premier League and V-League in recent year.
Guys the new MA Ranking set to be announced by AFC after the completion of this season, will it effect AFC Cup playoff qualifier participants of 2017 and 2018 editions?
FIFA has lifted Indonesia's ban, so Indonesia should return to Asian club competitions in 2017. That might affect the rankings about which country gets how many slots. We better wait and see what happens.
Both Ceres Lasalle FC and Kaya FC will play their league games on 5/18 instead of 5/21 to give them enough time to rest prior to the AFC Cup tie on 5/24 and 5/25 respectively.
The AFC decision regarding Ahli and Dhahria's home matches vs. Al-Jeish and Wahda are absolutely pathetic. They aren't even consistent with previous rulings... Half of Dhahria's team wasn't allowed into Lebanon and a 3-0 win was awarded to Wahda. Al-Jeish didn't even attempt to come to Palestine and somehow they don't get slapped with the same fine/administrative result? How does that make sense? Ahli Al-Khaleel should be playing in the KO stages- this tournament is an absolute farce.
South China plays tonight (Sapling Cup Final) and on Saturday (AFC Cup play-off), before having to travel to the Philippines to play Ceres La Salle FC. If they win this Saturday they have to play the final next Saturday. I believe South China's coach Rambo will rotate his squad for the tough series of matches coming up. In any case not all the players are eligible for the AFC Cup match.
Not looking good for South China FC so far. Lost both games prior to the AFC Cup tie. They might be saving their best effort and players for Tuesday's games, their last chance for Cup glory.
South China already arrived in the Philippines yesterday after 9 hours of travel. They had some light and relaxing training in the pool. I also don't see them winning against Ceres La Salle. There only chance is defend deep and hope to strike with a counter attack. But I am not sure they can even defend properly. They are in a mess and Wallace Cheung is not someone who knows anything about running a football club.
Pre-match press conference between Ceres La Salle and South China. Rambo said South China needs confidence and motivation. I think they will need a lot of luck as well.
South China wary of aggressive Ceres The South China football team from Hong Kong arrived in Bacolod City yesterday ready to conquer home team Ceres-La Salle FC when the two squads face each other tomorrow in the Round of 16 single-match knockout of the AFC Cup 2016 at the Panaad Stadium. South China head coach Brazilian Ricardo Rambo said they are aware of how good Ceres is as a team, especially when they are playing at home. “This a very aggressive team. They always put pressure on the other team to create something, especially when they are playing at home,” Rambo said. “We have to focus to get a good result. We came off a very tight schedule in our home league but we have two days to recover,” he added. With the team are four non-Hon Kong nationals, Cameroonian footballer Mahama Awal, Serbian Bojan Mališic, Brazilian Luiz Carlos, and Australian Ryan Griffiths. Coach Rambo, who joined the team two months ago, believes that South China can win the game against Ceres just like they did at the start of the group stages when they bounced back from three straight losses and registered three successive wins to finish No. 2 in the group and advance to the Round of 16. “We came here to win,” said Awal, a winger known for his lightning quick speed. Aware of the talented foreign players in the Ceres' lineup, he said they came prepared and will work very hard to beat the home team. Awal said South China is a very good team and they are like a family to one another, on and off the pitch. “We started badly in the group stage but we recovered,” Mališic said, adding that the public can expect a very good game from them tomorrow. Meanwhile, home team Ceres will be going into the game at the Pana-ad with the 5-0 victory against Bangladesh in their last match in the AFC Cup group stages followed by two straight wins in the UFL tucked under their belt. Ceres head coach Frank Muescan earlier said that fatigue and accumulated yellow cards are their major concerns but they have a system on how to address these problems. www.visayandailystar.com/2016/May/23/sportnews1.htm
AFC Cup debutants Ceres La Salle will be banking on the support of their home crowd at Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium in Tuesday’s AFC Cup last 16 clash with Hong Kong’s South China according to coach Franklin Muescan. The Filipino club won Group E ahead of Singapore’s Tampines Rovers with an undefeated record, chalking up two of their three wins on their own turf. But with first-ever place in the quarter-finals at stake against 2013 semi-finalists South China, Muescan (pictured) is looking for a landmark performance from his side in front of their fans. “South China is a big opponent and probably the best team we will be playing against in the history of the club. But we are the home side and we want to use this advantage,” said Muescan. “We know that the Hong Kong Premier League is strong and their local players are good. South China is an established club and playing against them will be a great experience. “It’s hard to pinpoint any weakness in South China, but from our end, we want to show that we have good team spirit and we believe in the quality and capability of our players.” South China crucially beat India’s Mohun Bagan on the final Matchday a fortnight ago to finish second in Group G behind the I-League side and edge out Myanmar’s Yangon United by a point. By the mid-way point of the group stage, though, that outcome looked unlikely after three straight defeats. However, under the management of Ricardo Rambo the side surged back to snatch a place in the Round of 16 after a run of three consecutive victories. “We’ve had good results in the past three games, but this game is very important and we want to do well in the AFC Cup,” said South China coach Rambo, who saw his side defeated at the semi-final stage of the Hong Kong Premier League Season Play-Off after a 2-1 defeat to Southern District on Saturday. “The team morale is very high and we’re very eager to get a win to reach the next round, which is important for a club with history like South China.” “We know we will be playing a compact team which is also very hard-working with some quality play. I am very confident we can get the win but to do so we have to play very smart.” http://www.the-afc.com/afc-cup-2016/afc-cup-rd16-ceres-la-salle-fc-v-south-china-preview
http://www.tnp.sg/sports/singapore-...nsions-tampines-confident-beating-mohun-bagan Injury and Suspensions, but Tampines confident of beating Mohun Bagan Stags missing key players but coach says they can upset favourites They were beaten by Mohun Bagan just three months ago in an AFC Champions League (ACL) qualifier, and go into tonight's AFC Cup Round-of-16 tie against the same opposition in a hostile environment with three first-team players sidelined through suspension and injury. But Tampines Rovers coach V Sundramoorthy refused to believe that defeat is a foregone conclusion. Speaking to The New Paper from India yesterday, Sundram was defiant. "We have every chance to do something in this game. It's a one-off match and it's the performance on the day that counts," he said. India's newly-crowned Federation Cup champions beat Tampines 3-1 in a match played in Kolkata in January, before the S.League's February kick-off, and Sundram believes his charges will not be easy pickings this time round. "In the first game, we were still in the middle of our pre-season and were not so sharp, not so focused. If you compare the team then to the team now, we have definitely improved, with all the games we have under our belt since then. "But we need to focus for the entire 90 minutes and not make any defensive errors that lead to goals, like we did the first time," said the 50-year-old. While Tampines may have struggled with sharpness the first time they faced Mohun Bagan, their challenge to earn a quarter-final spot remains a formidable one. The Stags will be without suspended duo, chief striker Billy Mehmet and midfield strongman Yasir Hanapi, whose sensational goal against Selangor earlier this month earned the S.League giants a spot in the last 16. Stylish playmaker Shahdan Sulaiman also suffered a long-term knee injury in the win over the Malaysian Super League giants. "We are really going to miss the three of them and we will have to organise the team differently because of that," said Sundram. "But it happens in football, and this now becomes an opportunity for the rest of the players to show that they can step up." The Stags still have former Arsenal and Liverpool star Jermaine Pennant, Singapore international midfielder Izzdin Shafiq and winger Jordan Webb to steady the side and cause the opponents problems. According to Sundram, Mohun Bagan will also have to do without one of their four foreign players. "Their four foreigners are absolutely key to their team," said Sundram, referring to Japanese midfielder Katsumi Yusa, defender Luciano Sabrosa, Haitian international Sony Norde and former Trinidad and Tobago international forward Cornell Glen. "We found out that Sony will be away playing for his national team so, while we will lose three players, they'll lose at least one." Tampines chairman Krishna Ramachandra had earlier told The New Paper that this will be Sundram's last game as coach of the club, with assistant Akbar Nawas, Herman Zailani and Mustafic Fahrudin taking over the reins. Sundram is poised to take over as Singapore coach, following the departure of Bernd Stage, and lead the Lions in a quadrangular tournament in Myanmar next week. But the former Singapore international refused to have his attention diverted from the immediate task. "If we get things right, we can win this," he said. "We just have to be tight defensively, focus for the entire duration of the match and capitalise on their weaknesses that we've identified."
Mohun Bagan will be missing Sony Norde, Katsumi Yusa, Pronay Haldar and Pritam Kotal all of them are first team players.
The entry date is over and Sheikh Jamal DC did not registrate for the next edition of AFC Cup. Will Bangladesh’s slot go lost? BFF is trying with league runner up Sheikh Russel KC. Any idea people?
South China 1-0 Ceres FT Congrats to South China. In the end, South China`s experience prevails. They played smart and left their best for last.
Mohun Bagun 1:2 Tampines Rovers a.e.t. Another long and hard-fight battle in the East Zone. Tampines was one man less from early second half time but they finally made it to the quarter final!