HOST squad Istiklol Dushanbe came off with a 4-0 shutout of Ceres Negros in the first leg of the AFC Cup Interzonal semifinal late Tuesday evening (Wednesday in Manila) in Hisor, Tajikistan.
Istiklol, which was last season’s double winners and runners-up in the 2015 edition, dominated the game from the start.
The Tajiks attacked with three men up front, and this put the Busmen defenders Kota Kawase and Carli De Murga on their toes.
Ceres’ vaunted attack was almost silenced as Istiklol’s defense only limited them to five decent shots, all of them from the outside.
The speed of the Tajik side finally yielded them a goal in the 25th minute, when left-back Akhtam Nazarov scored on a penalty, after putting goalie Roland Muller to the opposite direction.
On the other hand, Romish Jalilov doubled Istiklol’s lead at the 45-minute mark of the match.
The Philippine side started strong in the second half.
But Manuchekhr Dzalilov took over for the six-time Tajik Cup champions, scoring a brace in the 67th and 88th minutes to push Istiklol’s lead to four goals.
The Inter-Zonal semis series shifts to the Panaad Park and Stadium for the second leg, where the Pinoy side will be dealing with a big a deficit to overcome.
The second leg is on Sept. 12.
