Stiff and speedy Lighthousemen stifle Stallions

The 2024 PFL season’s super Sunday today continued with an absolute banger as Stallion Laguna FC and OneTaguig FC shared the spoils 3-3 during the evening matinee game.

With both sides scrapping at the top end of the table and likely having have heard of the events in Pavia from earlier in the day, the tension was heavy in the air – and while Stallion aimed to establish their possession game, they were jumped in the 4th minute; Kevin Ingreso’s graft down the left side of the pitch caught the Steeds with their metaphorical pants down, and Stephan Schrock hit a peach of a pass to set Patrick Grogg up for the opener of a hot and wild night.

The veteran midfield of One Taguig summoned all their wiles and skills to deny Stallion control of the middle and shackle their passing attack, but the Southern Steeds eventually chipped away and retook the momentum, bearing fruit in the 21st minute; Finn McDaniel whipping a free kick in from the left side across the bow for Ken Pryde to tap in the equalizer. Both sides then engaged in 20 minutes of nip and tuck heading into the interval, with Abraham Placito rampaging his way into the box in stoppage time and winning a penalty for the boys in white; McDaniel coolly slotted it in with effectively the last kick of the half for the lead and his 11th of the year.

The second half promised the kind of drama the modern Internet describes a cinema and the crowd watching both at home and in the stands saw a top-notch masterpiece. Febrile clashes up and down the midfield for control were the order of the day until the 53rd minute, when Grogg netted his second after a slick passing move across the pitch and a well-placed Nano Amita through ball released the peroxide-blonde powderkeg down the right to slot past Stallion custodian Freddy Cortez and raise the stakes just that little bit more. Emboldened by their ability to turn on the jets and stretch the Stallion defense like Mr. Fantastic, the Lighthousemen were now on the offensive, and their efforts paid off 10 minutes later; Abe Placito misplaced a backpass under pressure right into the grateful arms of Grogg, who rocketed up the pitch and set up Japanese winger Naoto Hiraishi to make 3-2 to Taguig. There was, however, another twist to the tale – Stallion super-sub Junior Sam was now in play and the Cameroonian dynamo did not disappoint,  scoring his 8th of the year within 2 minutes of coming on from a beautifully placed Cristian Ivanovski pass to make it 3-3.

Sam was not done yet, however, generally causing mayhem up front for a tiring Taguig backline with his speed and driving intensity. There was one last flashpoint in this match 10 minutes from time, Sam running onto a Gabriel Silva long ball and drawing another penalty from Taguig defender Jordan Jarvis, which McDaniel ended up shooting rignt at Taguig keeper Quincy Kameraad’s palms, and the looping rebound was hit out by the crossbar, leaving the game still knotted up, and both teams settled into a hitherto-unfamiliar lower intensity, looking to protect the point they would leave with while ruing the points dropped.