SHOWING he’s fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined him for half a year, Ruben “Balot” Doctora flashed his old, high-scoring form in leading Stallion FC to a 4-1 victory over Socceroo in the United Football League on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Six months removed from surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament, the Azkals striker registered a hat-trick in the second half to spearhead the blowout sparked by national teammate Simone Rota’s penalty conversion.
The Stallions thus notched back-to-back victories to hike their point total to six points and gain the early lead in the 10-team standings, while keeping their victims winless in two starts.
Rota opened the scoring 22 minutes into the match when the Filipino Italy-raised defender took and made the penalty rewarded after the Socceroo goalkeeper Gui Hasegawa committed a foul inside the box.
Socceroo, the former Division 2 champion, held the Stallions scoreless from there until early after intermission when the stage was set for Doctora’s explosion.
The 28-year-old pride of Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo recorded his three goals in a span of just 17 minutes, starting in the 59th and ending in the 76th.
Jerome Cuyos pulled an inconsequential goal back for Socceroo in the 90th minute off a corner.
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