GLOBAL FC leaned on Dennis Villanueva’s heroics to scrape past Stallion FC, 2-1, on Saturday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium and stretch its winning streak in the United Football League.
The reigning league champions and the Stallions engaged each other in a tight battle, before the 22-year-old Azkals midfielder spelled the difference as he came off the bench to score the winner as the match was about to go into stoppage time.
Mark Hartmann also struck for Global, which rolled to its third straight victory after starting the season with a draw as the powerhouse squad gained the provisional lead with 10 points, one ahead of Loyola Meralco, which has a game on hand.
Global also dealt the Stallions their first defeat following two successive victories.
Hartmann broke the ice eight minutes into the match when the national team mainstay headed home Satoshi Otomo’s attempt that hit the crossbar.
But the main event of the double-header shaped up to be a nip-and-tuck encounter as the Stallions equalized just six minutes later courtesy of midfielder Jordan Mintah.
Villanueva, who came in the 74th minute for Renato Gonzalez, provided the spark Global needed to prevail as he capitalized off the rebound a minute before second-half injury time.
“The players got their just rewards at the end,” Global coach Leigh Manson said.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
