A resounding 4-0 win over winless Team Socceroo got Stallion FC right back on track in their pursuit of overtaking Ceres-La Salle FC, according to Head Coach Ernie Nierras who spoke after their most recent match a week ago.
Currently, the gulf between the two teams span to six points with Stallion playing a game more than Ceres-La Salle. However, Stallion may see their second round loss to Global become a win should the league office decide to uphold their protest. If successful, it will mean that Nierras’ wards will move to within just three points behind the Bacolodnons.
With the two teams yet to meet in the second round, anything is still bound to happen in such an unpredictable realm of football. By the time they face each other though, Ceres-La Salle may already be crowned as champions. On that regard, Nierras placed an emphasis in boosting the morale of his squad for them to no longer drop points. “We still have to get our confidence in taking shots from the outside,” he reckoned after witnessing his team to have opted in drawing closer to the goal quite too often to his liking. It seems sensible for a coach who wants to win to see his team to improve their range.Shooting from distance tends to create more chances while also improving his players’ marksmanship, which may well lead to more goals needed to win games. Winning, after all, is the priority of most coaches. Nierras is not an exception.
“Whatever is there, you take it–as long as it’s a win,” the Stallion coach declared. He quickly followed that he could not care less about the margin of their victory as it is the three points in every game that he is after. A pivotal part of that objective is the team’s defense, which Nierras notably praised. “Defense is not the problem [against Team Socceroo]. We did a good job defensively. It’s a big improvement from our performance in last game and we just have to keep improving,” the mentor remarked.
Indeed, seeing out a relatively easy outing against a struggling team should not be the standard for the Stallion backline set to face the likes of in-form Green Archers United after the two-week long league break. There is still time for Stallion, but their chances of winning the league is currently out of their hands. The precarious situation, thus, leaves no room for Stallion to err in their upcoming matches.
