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| KC Cruz/UFL |
By Kevin Estrada
MANILA--Stallion used a first half
blitz to put a Pesky Laos away, 4-1 to kick off the final day of the UFL Cup
Saturday night at the Rizal Menorial.
A first half brace by captain Ruben Doctora, sandwiched in by the strikes of Jordan Mintah and Sam Bonney give Ernest Nierras' side a fitting finish to its Group A quest with its fifth straight triumph, topping the group undefeated by grabbing all of 15 points available.
Hamed Hajimahdi pulled one back for Laos in that half, but it was not enough for the club to get out of the cellar to cap off its disappointing cup stint after winning the Division 2 last season.
It only took four minutes for the 2013 Cup holder to get on the scoreboard as Doctora drew first blood on a breakaway, tearing Cheick Camara and Michael Atienza apart and fired his right boot into the left corner of Kevin Riconalla.
Eight minutes later, the Ghanian made a mincemeat of Atienza as he intercepts the ball from him and slots it away to the net to double their advantage.
Bonney made it 3-0 Stallion in the 18th minute off a Tuason corner, in which the ball sailed past Mintah and the former Loyola centerback pounds it home with a perfectly timed header inside the box.
Doctora completed formalized Stallion's top seeding with his header in the 24th minute courtesy of another Tuason corner.
Hamed made the match interesting by pulling one back two minutes after Doctora, blitzing on a run on the left wing and drills a shot past Ref Cuaresma outside of the box.
Stallion bossed the field in a clean match, having the ball with the team 60 percent of the time, and had more shots, and corners being played.
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