Green Archers and Pachanga Have Mountain to Climb in Football Alliance Quarterfinals

July 15 Matches at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium:
4:45pm – Stallion Giligan’s v Green Archers United Globe
8:15pm – Pachanga PLDT Home Fibr v Kaya FC

Both Green Archers United Globe and Pachanga PLDT Home Fibr need to hit the ground running on Tuesday, as they attempt to stage a comeback at the historic Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. The pair lost their first leg matches of the Football Alliance Cup quarterfinals, with Green Archers looking to overhaul Stallion Giligan’s two-goal advantage, while Pachanga strive to overcome Kaya’s three-goal buffer.

Having nearly scored on two occasions late in the first leg, the Archers will be quietly optimistic of their chances of a turnaround. Standing in their way, however, is a Stallion side that has proven a real force in the 1st Division, with their run of 11 games unbeaten in the latter stages of the League evidence of their solidity. But with Chieffy Caligdong, Robert Lopez Mendy, and Tating Pasilan, the Archers have the firepower to score plenty of goals.

Kaya utilized their Youth players to great effect against Pachanga in their first quarterfinal duel, and the same is expected to happen on Tuesday night once again. Inigo Herrera found the back of the net after coming on as a substitute, marking a massive day for the club’s academy products, with all six Youth players listed on the roster seeing action in the match. Paolo Salenga managed a goal before the final whistle to give Pachanga a glimmer of hope, but they’ll have to improve immensely in the second leg if they are to stand any chance of reversing the tie against a motivated Kaya side.

The winner of the Green Archers and Stallion quarterfinal will move on to face Global in the semi-finals, with the victor between Kaya and Pachanga taking on Loyola Meralco Sparks in the next round. The inaugural Football Alliance Cup, named after the UFL’s organizing body, represents the final competition in the 2013-14 UFL season, and features the top six 1st Division clubs in a fast-paced knockout tournament. Aside from the prestige of overcoming the very best in Philippine football, the winning club will be awarded P100,000, which will be donated to a charity of the team’s choice.

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