MANILA, Philippines – Stallion-Sta. Lucia dug deep to turn back Green Archers United Globe, 4-3, on Thursday night at the Emperador Stadium in McKinley Hill that marked their return on top of the United Football League.
Without their head coach Ernie Nierras, who missed the match to attend to a previous engagement, the UFL Cup champions went through the wringer before hacking out their ninth win in 10 games.
The Stallions showed their depth on the night when their top stars struggled offensively.
With league scoring leader Rufo Sanchez (9 goals) and the team’s second scoring leader Lee Jo Young (6 goals) held scoreless, four different players rose to the occasion to save the Stallions.
Their other Spanish recruit Joaco Canas opened Stallion’s four-goal rampage with a header just 10 minutes into the match. After Chieffy Caligdong tied the match at one apiece before the halftime break, it was the turn of Young’s compatriot Kim Hyo Il to step up scoring on a free kick in the 55th minute to get the Stallions back on the driver’s seat.
The Stallions put more pressure on the Archers 12 minutes later when Nathan Alquiros gave them a 3-1 advantage. But the Archers refused to just roll over and die as Reynald Villareal pulled one back in the 84th minute.
It was a short-lived celebration for the Archers though as the Stallions came charging back with a Diego Barrera goal right in the next play that helped cushion the impact of Archer Agbayomi Olowoyeye’s goal in the injury time.
The win pushed the Stallions back on top with 27 points, full two points ahead of Global, which has a game on hand. The loss, meanwhile, kept the Archers stuck at eight spot with their seventh loss against twin wins and a draw good for only seven points.
Earlier, Phil. Air force finally ended a nine-game losing spell with a 2-0 blanking of Nomads. (See related story http://www.philstar.com/sports/2013/04/19/932513/araneta-strikes-twice-air-force-finally-takes-flight)