History repeated itself in a cruel way for NagaWorld FC on Saturday as they went down 0-5 to Global FC in the quarterfinals of the RHB Singapore Cup at the Jelan Besar Stadium.
Global, from the Philippines, will take on Singapore giants Tampine Rovers in the next round. NagaWorld’s loss brought back painful memories of the team’s defeat to Singapore’s Home United by the same scoreline in 2014.
Global coach Leigh Manson said during the post-match media conference that the victory for his side was by no means easy since the players had to work hard for the outcome.
“It was the first time we played a top Cambodian team, so it was interesting to compare ourselves with them” Manson said, adding that the goalkeeper had done an outstanding job with three good saves
For his part, Naga coach Meas Channa, who assumed charge of the team last season after having served the club as a player for nearly a decade, felt that the chances missed during the first half made a huge difference.
“Global had three chances in the first-half and they scored three goals. We had chances too but we didn’t score. That is football,” Meas Channa said.
Hikaru Minegishi’s breezy double strike led the way to Mario Clarino, Omid Nazari and Daisuke Sato cushioning the lead at regular intervals as the last year’s semifinalists swept aside fellow invitees to the tournament.
Global , one of the leading clubs in the Philippines, fended off a promising attempt by Naga’s South Korean import Park Youngjun soon after the kick off. Then Hikaru Minegishi was bang on target in the ninth minute, swiftly completing his double before Clarino came up with the third goal for his side.
Befolo Privat, Sos Sohana and Tum Saray all came close for NagaWorld after the resumption but Global not only stood firm, they also kept expanding their own control with two more goals to put the game beyond their opponents in the second half.
