It rained goals yesterday in the 2017 Philippines Football League as teams found the back of the net 13 times in just two games played.
Global Cebu sneaked past a hungry Stallion Laguna in a 4-3 victory while Ceres dismantled a dismal Davao Aguilas side in a 5-1 rout with both games featuring a hattrick each.
Global wins seven-goal thriller, enters Finals Series
As the competition inches closer towards the Finals Series, a local football powerhouse formally secured its entry towards the post-season in dramatic fashion. Global sealed a 4-3 home win against Stallion Laguna.
Stallion forward Yannick Tuason opened the scoring after 12 minutes of play when he eluded the Global defense. The home side equalized afterwards at the 30th minute thanks to Rufo Sanchez’s header.
Both clubs entered the break level and it was Global that took the lead three minutes after halftime when Sanchez completed a counterattack for his second goal of the contest. Determined to retaliate, Stallion literally used its heads at headers from South Korean defender Ko Kyung-joon and Tuason at the 61st and 68th minutes respectively handed Laguna a 2-3 edge.
Unfortunately, for Stallion, it failed to see out the win with its precarious lead. Global forward Darryl Roberts scored a dramatic leveler at the 89th minute while Sanchez sealed his hattrick and all three points in stoppage time with a fine goal.
Global ended up as 4-3 winners against Stallion. The win gave Global 43 points at fourth place which were enough to thwart Stallion’s post-season chances as they are now stuck at fifth place with 32 points.
First half show sees five-star Ceres demolish Davao
Ceres leapfrogged Kaya Makati to climb to second place with 48 points after a comprehensive 5-1 win at Davao’s expense.
Spanish striker Fernando Rodriguez scored as early as the first minute of the match when he directed Iain Ramsey’s cross home. Patrick Reichelt then doubled Ceres’ cushion at the 14th minute courtesy of a Stephan Schrock assist.
Down 2-0 at the hands of a rampant Ceres, Davao managed to pull a goal back at the 27th minute. Former Azkals Angel Guirado tapped home his first goal for his new club to give the Aguilas a glimmer of hope in the contest.
That was all Davao mustered, though, as Negros immediately restored its two-goal lead thanks to Bienvenido Maranon’s calm finish at the 30th minute.
Just before the break, Rodriguez sealed his hattrick with two goals scored in the span of just eight minutes. Rodriguez rebounded the ball for his brace at the 33rd minute and outsmarted the Davao defense for his third goal of the game six minutes later.
The two clubs failed to tally another goal after the restart, although the contest was virtually over before then. Ceres got all three points as Davao was stuck at seventh place with only 15 points.
On Deck
November 5 shall be the next game date for the league. The 4:00 PM kickoffs shall see Davao host Stallion and Ilocos United welcome Global in their respective home grounds. Ceres shall take on Meralco Manila afterwards at 7:00 PM in the Panaad Stadium.
