S.League giants Tampines Rovers were eliminated from the AFC Cup on Wednesday night after falling to a 4-2 home defeat to Philippines' Ceres-Negros to finish third in Group G.
Yasir Hanapi tried his best with a double for the Stags but a Bienvenido Maranon brace, and further goals by Fernando Rodriguez and Kota Kawase, were enough to hand Ceres maximum points at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Tampines were forced to play more than an hour with 10 men after a straight red card to defender Shakir Hamzah.
However, the evening began with the Stags still clinging to the a chance of qualifying for the knockout round.
They required bottom side Felda United to beat Ha Noi in Vietnam in the other Group G game.
But just six minutes in, poor defending allowed the visitors to break the deadlock.
FULL TIME | @CeresNegrosFC defeat @TRFCStags in a 6 goal thriller! #AFCCup2017 #TAMvCER pic.twitter.com/7p3sNAiGOV
- AFC Cup (@AFCCup) May 3, 2017
Receiving possession down the right, OJ Porteria charged towards the byline before delivering a cross into the box. Maranon was somehow allowed to leap in between central defenders Daniel Bennett and Fahrudin Mustafic to nod home the opener.
Things went from bad to worse in the 23rd minute. There was no apparent danger when Bennett was about to sweep up a loose pass on the halfway line, only for Fazli Ayob to inexplicably slide in ahead of his teammate and divert the ball into the path of Manny Ott.
The Ceres midfielder gleefully accepted the gift, racing through on goal before squaring the ball to leave Maranon with the simplest of tap-ins.
By now, Tampines needed a minor miracle if they were mount a stunning comeback, and they were handed a lifeline two minutes later.
A loose pass from Maranon allowed Fazli to put Kawase under pressure. The ball eventually broke to Yasir, who strode towards goal before clinically dispatching his shot past Muller.
Just when it looked as though the momentum might have swung in their favour, the hosts shot themselves in the foot three minutes before the half-hour mark. Shakir dangerously lunged in on Rodriguez and was shown a straight red by the Libyan referee.
With a numerical advantage, Ceres duly reclaimed their two-goal cushion on the stroke of half-time. Rodriguez converted from the penalty spot after Ismadi Mukhtar had been penalised for handball inside the area.
Right on the hour mark, however, the Stags were awarded a spot-kick of their own when Khairul Amri did well to bring a long ball down on his chest before being dragged down just inside the area by Junior Munoz.
Yasir made no mistake in firing straight down the middle. Again, it looked as though Tampines' determination and endeavour could see them pull off something remarkable.
.@CeresNegrosFC are through to the #AFCCup2017 Zonal semi-finals as Group G winners! pic.twitter.com/3dacnC9plr
- AFC Cup (@AFCCup) May 3, 2017
Nonetheless, it was not to be for them as the visitors put the result beyond doubt in the 66th minute. Kawase climbed highest to head home a corner to secure a crucial triumph for his side.
The result sealed Ceres' spot at the top of Group G and guarantees them a place in the ASEAN Zone semifinals ahead of Ha Noi. That's despite the Vietnamese outfit recording an emphatic 4-1 victory over Felda over at My Dinh National Stadium.
Tampines Rovers: Izwan Mahbud, Jufri Taha, Fahrudin Mustafic, Daniel Bennett, Shakir Hamzah, Fazli Ayob, Son Yong-chan (Khairul Amri 53'), Shahdan Sulaiman, Ryutaro Megumi, Ivan Dzoni (Ismadi Mukhtar 30'; Madhu Mohana 71'), Yasir Hanapi
Ceres-Negros: Roland Muller, Junior Munoz, Kota Kawase, Carli de Murga, Jeffrey Christiaens, Kevin Ingreso, Manny Ott, OJ Porteria, Bienvenido Maranon, Iain Ramsay, Fernando Rodriguez