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| Terrence Linatoc of Stallion celebrates after scoring the equalizer against Ceres .(Cesar Dancel/UFL) |
By Kevin Estrada
MANILA--Stallion put another massive dent on Ceres' title-retention drive on a late second-half blitz to split the points as the United Football League capped their Wednesday doubleheader here at the Rizal Memorial Stadium
Ernie Nierras' wards came back from two goals down early in the first half, sparking a late rally in the final 20 minutes of the match thru Fitch Arboleda and Terrence Linatoc to share honors with the Busmen, with the latter losing their precious runner-up spot to Loyola as a result of the 2-2 draw..
Risto Vidakovic thought that they have swept their season's fixtures early in the first half after scoring twice in the first 25 minutes, but Kim Sang-min's dismissal at the hour mark changed everything for the Serbian gaffer who has yet to register the first win of the defending champions since taking over from Ali Go two weeks ago.
Ceres were off to a good start in the match, as Patrick Reichelt fired them ahead with a header from Stephan Schrock's cross inside 13 minutes, and Adrian doubled their advantage twelve minutes later.
Stallion could have halved the deficit in the 33rd minute, but Nathan Alquiros had his header hit the bar and Joshua Beloya, had his rebound charged down by the Ceres defence as the first half ended in favor of the latter.
The match took a surprising twist at the restart as the tall Korean centreback was sent off by Clifford Daypuyat on a last man tackle on a Stallion player.
That was the moment Stallion needed, as eleven minutes later, the former UE standout halved the deficit as he pounced on a Ruben Doctora header to score from twelve yards.
And with four minutes to go, Linatoc got the left-footed equalizer from another Doctora feed for the stunning result.
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