Stallion puts three past Kaya; Green Archers nip Pachanga

Far from its sharpest form, Stallion mustered enough quality to beat a sputtering Kaya side, 3-0, Sunday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium to regain fourth spot in the table.

Goals from Belinga Blanchard, Simone Rota and Balot Doctora in the second half secured all three points for coach Ernie Nierras’ side, which tied Kaya and Loyola Meralco with 18 points.

Stallion, however, has an inferior goal difference among the three teams.

Struggling to settle into the game in the first half, Stallion managed to stay compact. Kaya was also far from its best form as a three-week break seemed to have taken away all the momentum it has established early in the season. Adding to Kaya’s problems was the fact that it was playing for the first without coach Adam Reekie, who resigned late last month due to differences with club management.

Reekie’s resignation came as a surprise as Kaya was playing some of its best football in the league. But misplaced passes at midfield and a disjointed attack saw Kaya hardly create a clear-cut chance, dooming the side to its worst loss of the season.

Stallion, on the other hand, cashed in on its opportunities. “We needed this win because the loss (to Ceres) took some momentum from us,” said Nierras. “We were a bit disorganized in the first half, but when we started to get compact, it got better in the second half.”

After a dull first half, the match came to life when Blanchard, just seconds after coming into the game, struck a low free kick that took a deflection and beat Nick O’Donnel in the Kaya goal just after the hour mark.

Kaya was reduced to 10 men in the 72nd minute when Jorge Butron was sent off for a second yellow card, after another late challenge on Shirmar Felongco.

Rota struck from the penalty spot in the 89th minute after Alfred Osei committed a blatant handball infraction that prevented Jordan Mintah from scoring. Luckily for Kaya, Osei only got a booking for what seemed to be a red card offense.

Doctora sealed the rout by rounding out O’ Donnell in stoppage time as Kaya was left searching for answers heading into another big match against Loyola Meralco next weekend.

Check out the match photos HERE.

This post-match is from the official website of the United Football League (UFL). You may read the full and original post-match report from the UFL here.

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