Cebu FC falters in PFL debut

CEBU, Philippines — The Dynamic Herb Cebu FC got edged by Stallion Laguna FC, 1-0, during their debut in the Philippine Football League (PFL) Copa Paulino Alcantara late Wednesday night, November 10, at the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.

For head coach Oliver “Bingbing” Colina, there’s nothing to be ashamed of because Cebu FC has shown the rest that they deserved to be in the country’s professional football league.

“In our first game in the first half, the players were most likely excited, while some players were nervous, but overall we played well,” said Colina, whose wards were credited to have given the match an end-to-end action.

Stallion forward Abou Sy caught Cebu FC off-guard in the 19th minute with a rolling ball as they were under the impression a fair play was going to be called after one of the Stallion players was down near the sidelines.

“That goal was about respect, it should have been fair play. They caught us by surprise, but that was a lesson learned from the game,” added Colina.

While the Cebu FC’s confidence seemed to have dipped after that unfortunate goal, they quickly bounced back in the second half and dominated the match from ball possession to ball control.

The three attempts in the first half by the Tasci brothers Baris and Evren and John Renz “Poy” Saldivar increased in the second half with Kintaro Miyagi, JB Borlongan, Lorenzo Genco, and Daniel Gadia, but they all failed to convert.

The match didn’t end without an incident, with things heating up between Stallion’s Yannick Tuason and Saldivar, causing the former to be red carded on double yellow and bringing the Stallion to just 10 men.

At one point, Stallion was playing with just nine players after Cebuano Dean Ebarle crashed on the back of Genco and needed treatment.

Cebu FC will next face Kaya FC Iloilo as the withdrawal of UCFC paved the way for the newly-formed club to automatically advance to the semifinals.

“There will be much adjustment when we go up against Kaya. We need to correct the mental lapses because the focus is a bit off,” said Colina. — EBV