Will third time finally be the charm for Dynamic Herb Cebu Football Club? After a couple of breaks went against its way in its first two games, the Cebu Football Club will gun for its maiden win when it faces the dangerous Stallions Laguna anew, this time in the battle for third place in the Paulino Alcantara Cup on Nov. 19, 2021.
Cebu was holding the favorites Kaya but a handball by captain Baris Tasci (Trivia: Baris is the “B” in HERB) inside the box gave Kaya the lead and sent Cebu to a battle for third against Stallions Laguna, which beat them 1-0, in the first game.
“This still still be a great game, I know Stallion will still play as hard as they can,” said Cebu coach Oliver Colina.
During the media presentation late last month, coach Bingbing actually told me that he was looking forward to facing the tough teams like Kaya, Stallions and UCFC and said his team had a fighting chance against them. They also projected that had the league pushed through,
a fourth-place or even a third-place finish was a possibility.
Those couple of 1-0 losses to Stallions and Kaya showed their assessment was spot on. And, it may not be against UCFC, but the debutant Cebu got its wish and will face another strong team in its third game the Stallions, who will be out for blood to salvage its pride after a disappointing semifinal match.
Cebu or Laguna?
Here’s to a good game.
DARREN HARTMANN TRIVIA. Commentator Darren Hartmann shared an interesting trivia in the waning minutes of the Cebu vs. Kaya match. He shared that his last competitive game was against Cebu, which was playing as Leylam in the Aboitiz Men’s Open. I didn’t know that was his last game, but it was quite a match.
Leylam, then a two-time champion, faced Erco, which had Chieffy Caligdong and Hartmann as enforcements. And to make sure officiating would be up to par, the local FA flew in refs from Manila. Leylam won, thanks to a late free kick just outside the box, and as I went to the field to interview the players, I saw Darren talking with the referee about how he shouldn’t have called the foul and let the players decide the game themselves.
That thought crossed my mind when the penalty was called, but the replay showed it was a penalty begging to be called.
