San Beda booters slip past Stallions

MANILA, Philippines - Rizal-Smart San Beda FC slipped past Stallions FC-Barotac Nuevo, 2-1, and into the finals of the PFF-Smart Club Championships at the rain-soaked and muddy University of Makati football field Monday night.

On a soggy pitch that made it doubly hard for both sides to score, San Beda banked on enterprising first-half goals by Vaugh Melendres and Eliezer Fabroada in the 16th and 36th minutes, respectively, to survive the Stallions’ strong comeback in the second half.

Former national standout Jovanie Simpron scored the Ilonggos’ lone marker in the 62nd as the second period became an engaging goalkeeping duel between Stallions’ Wilson Muñoz and San Beda’s Ref Cuaresma, who both made several acrobatic saves that wowed a gallery of 2,000 that stayed on to watch despite heavy downpour that preceded the game.

But the victory proved costly for the Rizal booters after Phil and James Younghusband got booked for yellow cards each and will be forced to watch the first game of the two-match championship series starting Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium from the sidelines.