Ceres overpowers Archers; Global whips Socceroo XI

CERES-La Salle summoned its ruthless form to whip Green Archers United, 7-0, Wednesday night and move within two wins from clinching the United Football League title at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Unable to preserve a two-goal advantage in the draw against Global last Sunday, the Bacolod side regained its attacking rhythm to put Archers to the sword.

Spanish striker Adrian Gallardo fired a hat trick in the first 20 minutes while Lee Jeong Woo and Bienvenido Maranon knocked in two goals each as the Bacolod side jacked up its tally to 34 points from 13 matches.

One more win
Another win against Kaya on Saturday will virtually hand the title to Ceres, which has dropped just five points this season.

Defending champion Global climbed to second spot with a 6-0 drubbing of Team Socceroo in the earlier kickoff.

Japanese winger Hikaru Minegishi came up with a brace while Masaki Yanagawa, Jason de Jong, Dennis Villanueva and Norio Suzuki all found the back of the net for Global which increased its tally to 28 points from 13 games.

Socceroo suffered its 12th loss in 14 games, managing to register just four points with three matches remaining this season.

Archers came into the match riding high on a four-game winning run that included a 2-0 upset of Kaya two weeks ago.
Back to earth
But they were sent crashing back to earth by a dynamic Ceres side which took the lead six minutes into the match after Gallardo struck from close range.

Gallardo got his second goal in the 15th minute, chipping the ball past Kim Versales after a pass from Jason Sabio. Four minutes later, Gallardo got his hat trick to jack up his tally to a league-leading 17 goals this season.