THE ATENEO Blue Eagles defeated the Adamson University (AdU) Falcons, 4-0, on Sunday, February 5, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

The win puts the Blue Eagles at a 1-0 record with a +4 goal difference in Season 79 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Football tournament.

The Katipunan-based squad took possession early on, and Jarvey Gayoso scored an early goal and Ateneo’s first in the 5th minute. The Ateneo frontline intercepted the ball from the Adamson defense, leading to a calm finish inside the box by the second-year striker.

In the 14th minute, Ateneo came close to scoring after Gayoso played a through ball inside the box to rookie striker Sam Lim, but his left-footed attempt was blocked by an Adamson defender. Three minutes later, the first yellow card of the half was shown to Adamson.

The game started to get chippy on the 31st minute, when an Adamson defender slid hard behind the legs of Lim, which was warranted a yellow card. The third yellow card came shortly after as AdU interfered with an Ateneo free kick.

At halftime, the score read 1-0 in favor of Ateneo despite their constant attacking throughout the half.

The Blue and White continued playing attacking football as the second half commenced. In the 58th minute, Nino Herrea doubled the lead of Ateneo through a free kick. He curled in a shot outside the box that hit the top of the bar first before bouncing inside the net.

The Blue Eagles did not stop there, as they scored yet again nine minutes later from a Sam Lim goal. The rookie forward received the ball from Julian Roxas, dribbled through two defenders, and softly placed the ball at the left side of the goal.

Four minutes later, Gayoso sealed the game with his second goal. He chipped the ball from thirty yards out which extended the Ateneo lead to four goals. Ateneo held on to their lead in the remaining minutes of the match, en route to a 4-0 victory.

After the game, Gayoso mentioned that one of the factors that led to the win was that the team was focused throughout game despite the big lead and opponent. “[The team] was not complacent about the game and who we were going against. We wanted to start the season well.”

Their next game will be against National University on Thursday, February 9, 2:00 PM at the Moro Lorenzo Field.

Starting XIs:

Ateneo: Arcilla, Ceniza, Gayoso, Grierson, Herrera, Jarvis, Liay, Lim, Poe, Rocha, Roxas

AdU: De Guzman, Feliciano, Jumo, Martin, Jumo, Meliza, Pilarca, Rabino, Ramos, Viray, Ramos

Substitutions: 70′ Baña on for Lim, 71′ Haosen on for Ceniza, 83′ Castillo on for Jarvis

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