Fiery Global fires 4 past Stallion

MISAGH Bahadoran kept his fiery form as Global got its campaign off to a flying start with an emphatic 4-2 win over Stallion in the 2016 United Football League at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Picking up from where he left off in the recent UFL Cup, where he won the Golden Ball as Most Valuable Player, Bahadoran fired two goals after Hikaru Minegishi opened the scoring as Global stayed in step with powerhouse peers Loyola Meralco and Kaya.

Ivan Petrovic, a 36-year-old midfielder who also played in the first division in Iran and Thailand, also impressed in his debut for Global, forcing an own goal from Stallion defender Christian Nana in the second half.

Stallion pulled a goal back through Balot Doctora just before halftime, before Simone Rota scored a late consolation from the penalty spot.

“We want to keep the ball rolling,” said Global coach Leigh Manson. “Stallion is a quick and aggressive team and we shouldn’t have allowed that one ball down the middle to beat us. But overall, three points is vital because we’re keeping pace with Kaya and Loyola.”

In other matches, Manila Nomads prevailed over Agila by forfeiture, while Forza held Green Archers to a 1-1 standoff.

Archers striker Jimuel Arriola broke the deadlock five minutes after the break, but Japanese midfielder Hayato Aoki equalized nine minutes later for Forza, which is now part of the 12-team first division after the second division was dissolved.

Two weeks after capturing the UFL Cup at the expense of Ceres, Global needed only nine minutes to find the back of the net as Minegishi followed up Bahadoran’s saved effort.

The Global skipper doubled the advantage two minutes later with a chip over former Global keeper Roland Sadia, after he was released by a long punt from Patrick Deyto.

Doctora trimmed the deficit in the 33rd minute by rounding Deyto, but the two-goal advantage was restored when Nana helped Petrovic’s inswinging corner kick past the line.

Bahadoran fired home a left footed strike in the 77th minute after dragging the ball back to free himself from Nana.