Attacking midfielder Paul Mulders scored a goal in each half to seal Global FC’s 2-0 win over Cambodian champions Boeung Ket Angkor in their Group F tie of the AFC Cup at the Olympic Stadium yesterday.

This was the second win for the Philippines Division 1 winners, having beaten Myanmar’s Magwe FC 1-0 in their opening match.

Boeung Ket crashed to their second defeat in the four-team group, having been earlier beaten 3-0 by multiple Malaysian Super League champs Johor Darul Ta’zim.

Within minutes of the evening kick-off, the 36-year old Dutch-Filipino Mulders launched into a fierce drive from the edge of the box to beat Boeung Ket keeper Sou Yaty. He was back just past the hour mark to convert a spot kick that came Global’s way after defender Sun Sovanarithy had tripped Shu Sasaki inside the box.

Buoyed by these goals, coach Toshiaki Imai’s side went flat out for more, and it took stiff defending from Boeung Ket to keep Global at bay.

Less than elegant finishing on the part of the home side, however, saw some encouraging counterattacks fizzle out, the most promising of these from Sok Pheng and Tomoki Muramutsu, who were thwarted by goalkeeper Patrick Deyto, whose confident display was one of the features of the night.

None of the injury concerns that coach Imai had feared before the match had a bearing on the match, and at the end of the game he was understandably happy with the result. But he had a stern warning for his players that the job was far from finished.

Global captain Misagh Bahadoran echoed his caution. “It was a tough game and that early goal set us up well. We need to get as many wins as possible. We look forward to our clash with Johor Darul Ta’zim,” he said.

Once again it was a series of missed opportunities, especially in the second half, that were to haunt Boeung Ket, who face Magwe at the same venue next Tuesday.