UFL: After four red cards, Air Force walks out on Stallion; Agila win
Recaps on the UFL Cup matches from Tuesday in Emperador stadium.
Stallion wins over Air Force via walkover.
After a bench-clearing fracas and a flurry of red cards, Philippine Air Force abandoned their Group C match with Stallion after just seventeen minutes of play with the game still scoreless. Early on Wednesday you could the video of the conflict here but it has since been removed.
The ruckus began when Stallion player Ben Gordon was victimized by a hard challenge and appeared to throw a punch. That sparked the usual retaliations, counter-retaliations, attempts at restraint, and general chaos. No one was injured in the altercation.
After the dust settled referee Ariel Montaña consulted with this crew and presented a red card to Jeremy Hohn of Stallion and a yellow card to his team mate and captain, Ruben Doctora.
Both teams agreed that there this was a case of mistaken identity and that it was Gordon who should have gotten the red. Hohn was reportedly trying to calm the situation but may have done so with actions that may have appeared violent to the refs, said one spectator.
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Then Montaña dished out a yellow card to Air Force midfielder Ansing Gustilo and red cards to Airmen Rodolfo Bebanco, Vince Braga, Herbert Bayona, and Antonio Albor.
Bayona was so incensed with the card that he approached the referees in an aggressive manner and had to be pulled away.
That left just seven players for Air Force, the minimum number for an 11-a-side match to proceed under FIFA laws.
Montaña tried to restart the game after an almost 20-minute delay but the military side refused to take the field.
According to UFL Head of Football Operations Ritchie Gannaban, the result is a win via walkover for the defending champs, and depending on the decision of the disciplinary committee, a fine on Air Force is possible.
PAF, who qualified for the knockout stage out of Group C even before kickoff, will have five players suspended for their round-of-16 clash; the four recipients of the red cards plus Gustilo, who was on a yellow card at the start of the game and thus misses the next match due to accumulated cautions. Since a red card merits a two-game suspension, even if Air Force hurdles their next assignment, they will still miss the services of the four in the quarterfinals.
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Air Force striker Ian Araneta complained bitterly that Bayona and Gustilo were nowhere near the action and should not have been dealt the cards. The former Azkal does, however admit that Braga could have deserved his dismissal. Air Force also insisted that Stallion's Korean player, Bo Bae Park, threw a punch.
Air Force coach Brax Bracamonte also felt that Doctora should have been given a red for a strike on Braga. Doctora disputes this, saying that he was only trying to yank Braga away from the melee.
“Sinong bibigyan (punch) ko doon? (Air Force) Lahat naman sila kamag-anak ko” said the captain. Braga, a former Stallion, is a good friend of Doctora's and both, like Gustilo, Bayona, Araneta, and Albor, hail from Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo.
Stallion assistant coach Marjo Allado felt that Montaña failed to control the match, and that some earlier nastiness before the brawl was not dealt with properly, thus adding to the tension that led to the boilover.
The win puts Stallion on top of Group C with nine points from four games.
Agila 1, Cebu Queen City United 0.
Agila avoid the wooden spoon in Group C with an upset of the erstwhile group leaders.
Wanyou Vagbe hammered in a diagonal pass with his left foot past Cebu keeper Charles Villarta ten minutes in for the only score of the game.
Agila could have made it 3-0 had Stefano Abad and Franklin Eloundou not squandered chances before the halftime whistle.
United finished stronger but their striker Dan Villarico was denied twice by fine keeping from Agila netminder Marco Poli, on loan from Loyola.
Ariel Cahilig nearly equalized for Cebu in the 77th minute but his half-volley flew just over the bar.
United coach Mario Ceniza rued a lackluster midfield effort by his club and also bemoaned a mix up in the airport that prevented them from warming up properly. They left some equipment, including their training balls, at NAIA before they arrived at the stadium.
Queen City finishes group play with seven points, two behind Stallion and one ahead of Air Force, for second place. Agila winds up fourth with four points, three clear of Bright Star.
In a match played on Monday, Global brushed aside Team Socceroo 7-1 in their last Group D match.
Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.
