Global FC ended its AFC Cup 2015 campaign on a high note with a scoreless draw against Pahang FA. Held at the Philippine Stadium last night, this was their final qualifying match in Group G. The stalemate result preserved the 3-point lead of the Malaysian-based club in the group’s standing with 8 points, outranking Global FC that only had 5 points. Pahang will advance to the tournament’s round of 16 and will play against AFC Cup 2014 semi-finalists Persipura Jayapura.
First time to join the tournament and determined to move up to the next level, Global FC displayed its footballing prowess throughout the match, dominating the entire 90-minute period with a barrage of attempts that couldn’t find the ball at the back of the opponent’s net. Misagh Bahadoran’s combination pass to Dennis Villanueva opened the attack for Global FC a couple of minutes from kick-off. This enabled the yellow jerseys to settle early and set the pace of the entire game. Mark Hartman, the man of the match, also had several strikes, one of which hit the near post off a save from Pahang goalkeeper Mohamad Khalid Azhan’s. In the 2nd half, Global FC managed to keep the ball in the attacking third of Pahang’s side, barely allowing the black and white stripes to execute any attack. While the final minutes were filled with even more scoring opportunities for Global FC, the team was not able to convert.
“They had a golden chance,” admitted Pahang FA Coach Zainal Abidin Hassan. Despite the disappointment, Global FC Coach Leigh Manson expressed his pride with how his team gave their best during the match. “It’s a little frustrating but I’m extremely proud of the players,” said Manson in his opening remarks during the post-match Press Conference. “It was a good game but we just didn’t get the result that we needed,” he added.
Watch highlights of the match on AFC’s Youtube Channel:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABCDEFGH[/youtube]
