By Lance Agcaoili
CERES-LA SALLE massacred Nomads, 15-0, in what could be one of the most lopsided victories in the United Football League (UFL) Cup on Sunday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Ceres was hot from the get go, hammering in eight goals in the first 20 minutes alone. Adrian Gallardo started the scoring spree in the third minute, while Bienvenido Maranon capped the fiery first half with a header in the 43rd minute.
“It’s a convincing win but we’re still finding ways to improve,” Ceres Head Coach Ali Go said. “We have some important matches coming up, especially with the AFC [Asian Football Confederation] Cup, so its crucial that the players get their confidence and get used to playing with each other.”
Martin Steuble and Lee Jeong-woo each had a hat trick. Spanish players Maranon and Gallardo had two goals each. Ceres’s newest acquisition, Stephan Schrock, nailed his first two goals in the UFL, while Patrick Reichelt, Nate Burkey and Carlie de Murga tallied one goal apiece.
Defending champions Kaya got its winning ways back with a rousing 6-1 victory over Laos, while Stallion regained the solo lead in Group A with a 4-0 rout of Agila.
Robert Lopez Mendy had a stellar first half for Kaya. His header in the 16th minute broke the ice, but Laos equalized behind Aaron Altiche on a Hamed Hajimehdi’s cross in the 21st minute. Mendy hit a go-ahead goal in the 41st.
Kaya scored five unanswered goals in the second half, behind Joven Bedic’s two goals in the 77th and 90th minutes. Aly Borromeo and Dominic del Rosario scored the other Kaya goals.
Stallion drew the first blood in the 33rd minute through Christian Nana’s goal but it took them a while to score again through Korean midfielder Park Bo-bae in the 85th minute.
Jay Soberano stretched the cushion to 3-0 after scoring from 20 yards away in the 89th minute. Jordan Mintah capped the victory two minutes into injury time.