Stallion-Laguna outlasted Dynamic Herb Cebu, 5-4, in a penalty shootout that came after a scoreless tie at the end of regulation to salvage third place in the Copa Paulino Alcantara on Friday, November 19, 2021 at the PFF National Training Centre in Carmona, Cavite.
Goalkeeper Kenneth James made the only save of the match while Stallion converted five attempts from the spot, including the clincher courtesy of Finn McDaniel to end its cup campaign with a medal.
The Horsemen once again ended up on the winning end of another hard-fought encounter with the top-flight debutants from Cebu, though this time they had to settle the result through spot kicks.
“I hope this will continue a tradition between Stallion and Cebu where we’ll give you a lot of good games all the time,” said Stallion coach Ernie Nierras, whose side claimed a 1-0 win in the first Copa meeting with Cebu last November 10.
“Both sides played really hard and it was action back and forth and we went to a penalty shootout,” added Nierras.
Cebu settled for fourth place after making heads turn despite falling short in all three Copa matches.
One of its best chances to go ahead came in the 34th when left winger John Saldivar sent a cross that hit Stallion center back Gabe Silva and the goalpost.
Dynamic Herb also got an opportunity in the 70th but a header off a corner kick was deflected by a Stallion defender.
The only shootout of the competition saw both sides converting each of their first three attempts, with Daniel Gadia, Ricky Sendra and Charles Dabao finding the back of the net for Cebu while Silva, Abe Placito and Kim Sungmin scoring for Stallion.
Roberto Corsame Jr. tried to continue the trend for Cebu but James, later named Man of the Match in his only Copa appearance for Stallion, came through with a diving save.
Laguna’s Jo Warren Bedia and Cebu’s Joaco Canas scored on the next two attempts, setting the stage for McDaniel to redeem himself from missing a crucial chance in the semifinal loss to the Azkals Developmental Team.
McDaniel fired a high attempt that hit the crossbar, but the ball bounced past the goal line, assuring each Stallion member a bronze medal.