COMING FROM their inspired win against Far Eastern University, the Ateneo Blue Booters came away with their fourth straight win of the season against UAAP Football debutants National University (NU), 1-0, on a very rainy Sunday, December 16, at the Moro Lorenzo Football Field.
Throughout the match, the Blue Booters were handed several chances to blow the game wide open, but their finishing wasn’t there. Despite being a rookie team, NU played with intensity and hustled for possession.
Ateneo had three early chances from Armand Gozali and Valentino Calvo in the opening minutes, but none yielded a goal. Meanwhile, NU was able to get a chance to score in the 17th minute, but Ateneo keeper Nick O’Donnell easily saved the shot. On the 22nd minute, Mikko Mabanag found himself some space, but his shot was wide.
The Ateneo XI had a worrying moment two minutes later when O’Donnell dropped the ball from an NU free kick. However, he quickly recovered, not allowing any potential chances at the Ateneo goal.
The Blue Booters then had a golden opportunity when Gozali linked up with Calvo in the 26th minute, but the latter’s chance went wide once again. NU had one late chance before the halftime interval, but the shot went straight to O’Donnell.
After the restart, Ateneo Head Coach JP Merida subbed in rested players as his team looked for that vital first goal. On the other hand, the second half was one to forget for NU, as they left Ateneo’s backline untroubled.
Ateneo came close to a goal in the 55th minute, but Toffee Sumulong’s shot went straight to NU goalkeeper Hayeson Pepito.
Most of the minutes afterwards were spent in the middle of the pitch with both teams finding it difficult to get any clear-cut chances. The rain made possession difficult for Ateneo and NU.
In the 77th minute, however, Ateneo center-half Jico Noel set himself up for a free kick and delivered it into the box. Surprisingly, his shot was not met by a teammate, but by an NU player as the ball went into the net. Ateneo was suddenly ahead, 1-0, thanks to an own goal by the Bulldogs.
The goal handed the Blue Booters a massive confidence boost, as they launched attack after attack in order to seal their win.
Two minutes later, a shot by Anton Sison went over while another Mabanag attempt went wide. Mabanag, however, was able to intercept the ball in the subsequent possession, but did not manage to get past Pepito.
On the 84th minute, Sumulong chipped a through ball to Mabanag who was clear on goal, but his chip was too low and was saved once again by Pepito. After three minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the final whistle as Team Ateneo’s winning streak improved to four.
With the win, the Blue Booters hold on to solo first with 13 points on a 4-1-0 win-draw-loss record.
Their final game of the first round will be against defending champions the University of the Philippines after the Christmas break.
