Stallion Football Club defeated Manila Nomads Sports Club, 4-2, yesterday (June 19, 2016) in their 2016 United Football League encounter at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila. Fitch Arboleda (19′), Joshua Beloya (30′ & 45′), Park Bo Bae (84′ penalty) provided the goals for Stallions while Stephen Appiah (54′ penalty) and James Eje (66′) were the goalscorers for Nomads.
The tone was set early in the game when Stallions goalkeeper Oscar Tan performed consecutive saves early on to deny Nomads an immediate goal. Goals change games and Nomads were left to lament those missed chances as Stallions shifted gears. Simone Rota and Nate Alquiros had their attempts end up wide of the Nomads goal while Beloya came close with a header, only for it to be cleared off the line.
Stallions finally opened the floodgates at the 19th minute when Arboleda found space inside the Nomads box and finished clinically to give his team a well-deserved goal. Stallions didn’t have to wait long for the second goal, though, as Beloya scored his first of the afternoon at the 30th minute. Beloya had another chance afterwards which ended up at the side-netting.
Just before halftime, Beloya wasn’t to be denied a second goal. Arboleda rounded up Nomads goalie Joshua Cruz and laid the ball off to Beloya who kept his composure and tapped the ball into the empty net at the 45th minute to give Stallions a commanding 3-0 lead before the break. At halftime it was Stallions 3-0 Nomads and the latter had it all to do if they wanted to mount a comeback.
Stallions maintained their momentum once the second half started when Jim Flores forced a good save from Cruz. Eight minutes after the break, though, Nomads was granted a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty. Appiah then made no mistake and he converted the spot-kick at the 54th minute.
Despite conceding a goal, Stallions still had control of the match. Arboleda and Samuel Bonney had chances to restore Stallions’ three-goal advantage yet they failed to hit the target. Stallions were then made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal when Eje eluded Tan to at the 66th minute to bring the game closer at 2-3.
Even if Nomads were the team chasing the game, it was Stallions which threatened to score once again. Substitute forward Yannick Tuason volleyed wide and Ruben Doctora saw his shot saved by a determined Cruz. As if those near misses weren’t enough, the crossbar thwarted what should have been Arboleda’s second goal of the afternoon.
Quite deservedly, Stallions finally got another goal in the 84th minute. Doctora won a penalty a minute earlier when he was brought down in the Nomads box and Park calmly directed the ball towards the lower left corner. In the end, it finished Stallions 4-2 Nomads with the former going home with a much needed win.
Stallions coach Ernie Nierras said after the game: “We wasted so many chances, but a win’s a win regardless. At least we won so now we have to prepare for our big game – Ceres.“
The win allowed Stallions to move up level on points with JP Voltes with 10. Up next for Stallions will be league leaders Ceres-La Salle FC on Saturday (June 25, 2016; 4:00PM) at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. As for Nomads, they take on Green Archers United FC on Sunday (June 26, 2016; 1:45PM) at the same venue.
In an earlier game, Laos FC defeated Pasargad FC 6-1 to get their second win of the season. Patrick Franksson scored four times (12′, 37′, 52′ & 64′) while Aaron Altiche (8′) and Hamed Hajimahdi (29′) provided a goal each for Laos. On the other hand, Jean Claude De Los Reyes (46′) scored a consolation goal for Pasargad.
