Mendiola FC 1991 and Stallion-Laguna battled to a scoreless draw after an interesting affair in the Copa Paulino Alcantara on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at the PFF National Training Centre in Carmona, Cavite.
Despite getting some chances, the winning goal eluded both Mendiola and Stallion as they eventually split a point following their late afternoon contest that marked the cup competition’s resumption after a lenten break.
Mendiola may have put its aspirations of reaching the semifinals in jeopardy even after the result that continued a solid run of form in the past two weeks.
With two points after five matches, Mendiola needs to win its final elimination round assignment against Dynamic Herb Cebu on May 2 and hope that teams in the middle of the pack would drop points in their remaining matches.
The Brave Men dropped their first two games before stunning United City FC with a scoreless draw last April 4 and nearly producing the same scoreline against titleholder Kaya-Iloilo before losing 1-0 seven days later.
It was the second draw in as many matches for Stallion after nearly getting the maximum three points near the end when Marvin Angeles’ attempt hit the far post.
Ghanaian striker Stephen Appiah, Mariano Suba and Jay-R Sandoval were among the new players inserted into Mendiola’s starting 11 while putting top talisman Ashley Flores on the bench.
Kameron Bolden and Gyles Encabo took the place of Abou Sy and Leo Nogueira in the starting lineup for Stallion, which was hoping to atone for conceding a late goal in the 1-1 draw against the Azkals Development Team last April 11.
Mendiola tried to take the lead in the first half but a shot by Sandoval from a tight-angled position landed on the roof of the net.
Stallion also tried to go ahead 16 minutes into the match, but Jo Warren Bedia fired a shot from the edge of the box which went way over the bar.
Appiah could have put Mendiola up near the half-hour mark on a pair of counterattacks, but his first attempt against four Stallion players was too wide while a second went wide right.
Late in the second half saw Stallion threatening to produce the winner, but a header by Oscar Delgado was deflected by Mendiola keeper Michael Asong, whose performance between the sticks in recent games had been lauded.
Angeles, who substituted for Bedia in the 57th, could have been the hero for Stallion only for his shot to rattle the woodwork. Fellow sub Yannick Tuason tried to go for a rebound but his low shot was off the mark.
Following another stalemate, Stallion seeks to finally enter the win column when it tries to spoil the 2022 debut of Cebu on April 25.