Stallion Laguna got back to winning ways on this fine Saturday afternoon, sprinting past a game but ultimately overmatched Mendiola FC 6-1.
After slipping a bit in the title race the past two weeks, having dropped 4 points and lost to Davao Aguilas last week, the Steeds got back to their hard-driving offense early, all but camping in the Mendiola box early on; the Braves have early inaccuracy from their opponents to thank for not being behind very early. A brief flurry from Mendiola gave them some hope, but Stallion drew first blood in the 15th minute; an offensive move from the boys in white saw Finn Mcdaniel draw six Braves onto him and then drop the ball off to Juan Galeana Trujillo on his customary spot in the left flank to blast past John Betanio. Despite their best efforts, and a couple of good counterstrikes by Mendiola, the halftime whistle blew with Stallion only up by 1, spurning several opportunities to extend their lead.
The floodgates opened in the 2nd half, however, with Theo Moraes getting the last touch on a corner whipped in the 52nd minute to double the lead, and the lead doubled within 60 seconds as Jose Magson Dourado made it 3 after a lengthy spell of possession inside the box saw a Theo shot saved by Betanio, with the ball dropping right into his lap for the rebound. Stallion would make it 4 to their good in the 69th minute after Jacob Tañamor conceded a penalty lunging at Theo Moraes down the right edge of the box after being sold a dummy; Finn Mcdaniel slotted the penalty home for his 12th of the season, washing away his frustrations after having several poorly placed shots.
Juan Trujillo would come back into the fray in the 74th minute, netting his second from a beautiful cutback by Cristian Ivanovski down the left side of the box. Stallion wouldn’t let off the gas here, and despite Junior Sam missing a penalty in the 80th minute, a penalty won by Trujillo after nutmegging Tañamor cutting inside the box and getting dragged by him, the attack only intensified after Mendiola went down to 10.
Trujillo completed his hat-trick at the start of stoppage time, putting in a cross-box pass from Finn McDaniel with his outside toe to make it six to the Steeds. Kirk See stole a very late consolation goal for the Bravos after a nicely-placed break crossed Freddy Cortez up, as the game ended with a thundering return to the win column for the Southern Steeds.
Psychology graduate that’s been down the football rabbit hole since a kiddie camp in 1996. Once made a tryout for Manila Jeepney and a weekend consists of hand-wringing about Manchester United and Stallion Laguna. Can be found spouting opinions on X @FullyVaxxedJ
