Ceres La Salle's hopes of overcoming a 2-1 deficit in the second leg of their Singapore Cup semifinal against Tampines Rovers will be significantly aided by the return of Philippines internationals Stephan Schrock and Manny Ott. The Philippine outfit take on the Stags at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday looking to overturn the slimmest of deficits, following defeat in an ill-tempered first leg. The situation could have been better for Ceres had Bienvenido Maranon not missed a penalty at the Jurong West Stadium on Sunday, which would have made it 2-2. Nonetheless, they will head into the return encounter brimming with confidence as they welcome back Schrock and Ott, along with fellow Azkal Kevin Ingreso, who are all returning from suspension. Schrock, in particular, brings with him a wealth of experience and class having played in the German Bundesliga and Europa League in his time with Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt, and is currently the leading scorer in the Singapore Cup with five goals to his name. One setback for Ceres will be the absence on the bench of coach Risto Vidakovic, who was sent off in the first leg, while -- on the field -- South Korean left-back Son Yong-chan will also be ruled out after picking up his second yellow of the tournament. In Vidakovic's absence, it is likely that former coach and current technical director Ali Go will take the reins on Wednesday.
"I think it's going to be an exciting match in the second leg," said Go. "Tampines are a good team and it's important that we recover in time. "Whoever makes it to the final will be deserving of it." While Ceres welcome back three key names, it will be Tampines' turn to be without a couple of influential players as captain Fahrudin Mustafic, midfielder Yasir Hanapi and defender Shakir Hamzah will be missing through suspension. Already without the injured Fazrul Nawaz, Shahdan Sulaiman and Fabian Kwok, Stags coach Akbar Nawas admits they will have to be at their best to overcome their selection woes. "It will be a bit tough because we'll be missing Farra [Mustafic], Shakir and Yasir, and we're already missing quite a number of injured players. "We will struggle to put out an XI and it will be tough, but any day against Ceres is tough because they're a good team. "But at the end of the day, it's down to us and if we carry on fighting and sticking together, you never know what could happen." Wednesday's clash will be the fourth meeting between the two sides in 2016. Prior to Sunday's first leg, they also met in the group stage of the AFC Cup and played out a 1-1 draw at Jalan Besar back in March, before Ceres claimed a 2-1 win in Bacolod the following month. Ceres La Salle Probable Lineup: Louie Casas, Carli de Murga, Jason Sabio, Kim Sang-min, Kevin Ingreso, Manny Ott, Martin Steuble, Bienvenido Maranon, Stephan Schrock, Jeffrey Christiaens, Patrick Reichelt. Tampines Rovers Probable Lineup: Izwan Mahbud, Ismadi Mukhtar, Jufri Taha, Afiq Yunos, Irwan Shah, Izzdin Shafiq, Jermaine Pennant, Saifullah Akbar, Jordan Webb, Hafiz Abu Sujad, Billy Mehmet.
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