UFL: Stallion Sta. Lucia overcome slow start, bury Nomads

In a must-win situation for both sides, Stallion Sta. Lucia FC bucked a slow start to bury the Nomads late, 6-3, Tuesday at the Emperador Stadium, to continue to contest Global FC for the league trophy.

The Nomads on the other hand, had entered the game trying to stay clear of relegation, and were looking to bounce back from a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Army from last weekend. They had held Stallion to 1-0 in their first round encounter, but with players unavailable on both rosters in this outing, the circumstances of the game were wildly different.

First half

There was an early free kick for Stallion as Jovin Bedic went down in the second minute, but the fuchsia-kitted team failed to capitalize, giving way to end-to-end action in the first 10 minutes.

A yellow card was shown to Nomads’ Fidelis Nnabuife at the eleventh, followed by another yellow for something he said to referee Ray Ritaga, and just like that, Nomads were down to 10 men, as Nnabuife was sent off.

Seeing that their opponents were down to ten men, Stallion may have relaxed a little too much, and Nomads veteran Phil Connolly capitalized on that.

Connolly bore down on the Stallion defense, outwitted, and maybe even shoved his defender, forcing the Stallion keeper to come out. Instead of helping though, he actually collided with another defender, leaving the net open for the Englishman, who made it 1-0 in favor of the Nomads.

However, Stallion was gifted an equalizer at the 22nd minute, as a failed clearance resulted in an own goal from Bafio Magassa.

Stallion came alive after that goal, and successive tries rapidly followed. But poor finishing continued to haunt the team, as Jeremy Hohn and Lee Joo Young were turned away by the defense.

At the 35th, Stallion sent in the more offensive-minded Diego Barrera for Bedic. The substitution paid off almost instantly as a header from captain Canas off a Barrera pass saw the back of the net at the fortieth minute, to put Stallion ahead 2-1.

Canas and Hohn, both central backs, had been making attacking runs into enemy territory and that plan clearly worked. As the halftime whistle blew, Stallion were on top after Nomads’ early threat.


Second half

Not content with the scoreline at the break, Stallion moved players around a little, turning the team into an even more offensive machine.

At the 49th, a good ball in came from Lee Joo Young, but Barrera was able only able to send it way over the crossbar. Rufo Sanchez found several chances at the goal, but there was still nothing in terms of scoring for the Spaniard.

Stallion FC however maybe didn't even need need Sanchez’ services in this one, as teammate Lee Won Hyung fired a rocket of a ball that wove its way through the Nomads defense and careened off Nomads’ Selu Lozano and into the net, putting his side up two goals.

Although a couple of substitutions for the Nomads made for a more offensive team, they were outclassed by the League-leading Stallion squad. This clearly showed in the last 20 minutes.

At the 76th, Sanchez finally got his goal, a header that found the back of the net. He followed this up with another goal just two minutes later, as Nomads keeper Russell Pierson fumbled the ball and the Spaniard easily got to it and kicked it in.

Shirmar Felongco joined the party minutes later, as the young Nomads keeper made another mistake, coming out way too far, which made him unable to double back to the goal.

At the 83rd minute, Stallion made a substitution, sending in Bruno Santos to replace Guilherme Hasegawa, who had thus far done a great job at goal.

Four minutes later, a penalty kick was awarded to the Nomads, and Magassa was able to take back the own goal he gave Stallion early in the game, making it a 6-2 affair.

In injury time, it was Sam Okoro’s turn to score for the Nomads. Okoro, whose arm looked like it was more than halfway through the mummification process, easily misdirected Santos and booted the ball into the net.

However, it was way too little way too late for the Nomads, as their opponent had doubled their tally by the final whistle.

What’s next for the teams

The Nomads still have to play Green Archers United and will have to wait for the games of Army FC and Airforce FC to find out if they will be part of the playoffs for relegation.

Stallion have just a game versus the Loyola Meralco Sparks left in their schedule. If they win that game, they will end the League with 48 points. Global FC on the other hand, their closest competitor for the League title, still have three games to play versus Meralco, Kaya, and Army.

If Global win all their remaining games, they will end the League with 49 points, thus, it is possible that like last year, the League champions will not be final until the last games have been played. - AMD, GMA News