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| Penson Stallion Gilligan's F.C. |
The Almighty Ernie Nierras-led Stallion F.C., For all its accomplishments in its first season on the top flight, will forever be remembered as the proverbial dark horse (pun intended) and the team that might have won it all, if not for its Jeckle-and-Hyde masquerade in the 1st and 2nd rounds in the UFL League.
On its maiden top flight campaign, the team was a sight to behold and I mean literally a sight to behold! Never was it in anyone's imagination, save for a few die-hard stallions fans, that the club was capable to get the results that it was able to get in the starting few rounds. Slick passing and midfield dominance was the weapon used by the stallions to perfection as it ran riot over Air Force FC and Loyola Meralco early in the season. The linkup of Lee Joo Young and Reuben Doctora delivered a combined 19 goals and was unstoppable with its trademark short passes and perfect 1-2 combination that resulted to Doctora to finally being noticed for the Azkals.
In the 1st half of the season, there was something resoundingly noticeable between the stallion players and their opponents. The Fitness level and familiarity between the players where a whole level higher than that of the rest of the league. They ran for the whole 90 minutes, play by the whistle most of the time, never get rattled against anyone (remember the 4-1 win against Loyola where Phil scored the opening goal on a defender back-pass error) and tirelessly hustle for the ball on every possession. It was indeed the best of times for the Stallions as they rack up points and was the league leader early in the season. Wilson Munoz was steady between the sticks, OJ Clarino, signed during the transfer window, is the little-engine-that-could, Bervic Italia and the other Koreans hold the defense line like their lives depended on it. Only the very close defeat against the then struggling Global FC did made a dent to the Stallions and exposed some chinks in the armor. Nevertheless, the stallions was the surprise package of the 1st round. Coach Ernie Nierras motivated his lad by saying that "Ipakita ninyo sa kanilang lahat na ang UFL ay 10 teams at hindi lang Kaya, Global, Loyola at Airforce lang ang naglalaro" - a fleeting reference to the marketing commercial made by AKTV which featured the so-called superstars of the league (Guirado, Caligdong, PYH, JYH, Moy, etc). Apparently it worked.
Then came the 2nd round...
There are various theories that would explain the rapid rise and fall of Stallions, some say the unexpected month-long break on February-March stopped the momentum of the team. Then there's the rumored unsustainable 5x a week training that killed the fitness level because of too much practice, or that teams already adjusted and learned how to play against them (tall teams used height, short teams used aggressiveness) and lastly, after the break, they suddenly forgotten how to play the short passess that worked so well and re-coursed to long balls which really doesn't suit the team that size. What Global FC exposed in the 1st round is that you have to choke the midfield and tighten up the defense and force the Stallions to long balls and ineffective counter-attacks
And finally, for all of coach Ernie Nierras' brilliance, cursing and embarrassing your players every half-time doesn't do your players any good no matter how many times you use it. (kung magmura si coach parang mauubusan siya ng mga salitang mura kinabukasan).
In the 2nd half of the season, the Stallions where a completely different team. Opponents aggressively exploited their height advantage, clogged the midfield and double/triple teamed Doctora. suddenly the Stallions forgot how to play the short passing game that gave them success for so many games.
For all its worth, they still played remarkably better than their promoted counterparts (Nomads/Pasagrad though Pasargad is subject to debate) and still finished 4th in the standings. This however, still feels more of a missed chance among the Stallions faithful as they knew what they could have gotten if only the team was consistent and did not lose its edge in the 2nd round.
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| Jason De Jong / Azkals |
Hopefully with the full integration of Rufo Sanchez to add creativity in front and provide the knack to finish off scoring chances and the rumored transfer of hot-headed Jason De Jong will give the team a boost in its 2nd season at the top flight. (provided he wont be cut again due to misbehavior) I believe that there are some minor problems for the stallions but this is a team that has shown time and again how to persevere, a team that know how to get hit hard but still play in the highest level. This is a team that will, coming in the new season, will still be wearing the dark horse label proudly and who knows, being more consistent and focused, be deadly from the start till the 90 minutes are up, from the 1st game till the end. They might be the one to come out of the top once the smoke clears up.
Hopefully it will not be a tale of two teams this time around.
