THE ATENEO Men’s Football Team continued their dominant start to the season in their 1-0 victory over archrivals De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers on Thursday, February 16, at the Moro Lorenzo Field in Quezon City.
This win puts the Blue Eagles at a 4-0-0 record with a +12 goal difference in the Season 79 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Football tournament.
The game opened slow for both squads. The first free kick attempt for Ateneo came at the ninth minute, but Jarvey Gayoso’s attempt sailed wide. The Green Archers had a FK attempt two minutes later and came close to scoring, but Rafael Montalibono’s header went off.
In the 20th minute, the Blue and White almost scored after Gayoso’s free kick reached the head of Julian Roxas, but DLSU keeper Kerbi Almonte got a hand on the third-year player’s header.
Sixteen minutes later, Gayoso put Ateneo on the scoreboard with the first goal of the match. He received the ball inside the box off a bounced cross, flicked the ball with his left foot over the defender, and banged it past the keeper with the same foot. That goal marked the second-year forward’s fifth goal in four games.
The Blue Eagles were in a dangerous area in the 40th minute, after Jordan Jarvis was taken down right outside by the box. Gayoso laid it off to Roxas in the free kick, but his shot was off target.
The next chance for the Katipunan-based squad came eight minutes after halftime. Gayoso’s free kick reached the head of Roxas yet again, but also like last time, his header was off- target.
The Green Archers remained dangerous as the second half progressed, winning multiple free kicks in their half. The Ateneo backline remained undeterred despite the constant pressure, clearing and heading the ball away to keep the clean sheet.
The Blue Eagles came close to scoring yet again in the dying moments of the match. In the 87th minute, Ateneo counterattacked by capitalizing on a La Salle free kick, but Sam Lim was flagged for offside in the ensuing pass. A minute later, Lim broke free with only the keeper to beat, but Almonte rushed in and deflected the ball. The Blue Eagles held on to the lead, as the final whistle sounded, clinching their fourth straight victory.
Despite the remarkable goal he scored in the game, Gayoso deflected the praise to himself and instead commended the team. “[The goal] was pure luck. I was just in the right place at the right time,” Gayoso explained. “The goal was our team’s goal and not really my goal. I was just there at the right time.”
The next match for the AMFT will be against the University of the East on Sunday, February 19, 1:00 PM at the FEU Dilliman Football field.
Starting XIs:
Ateneo: Alilam, Arcilla, Ceniza, Gayoso, Grierson, Haosen, Jarvis, Mathay, Poe, Rocha, Roxas
DLSU: Almonte, Brago, Custodio, Diamante J., Garcia, Gonzales, Koizumi, Lawless, Montelibano R., Montelibano J., Ybanez.
Substitutions:
Ateneo: 62’ Lim on for Alilam, 82’ Gaudiel on for Haosen, 89’ Baña on for Ceniza, 90’ Castillo on for Mathay.
DLSU: 62’ Joseph on for Lawless, 66’ Siggoat on for Koizumi, 72’ Zubiri on for Gonzales, 78’ Alcantara on for Montelibano.
Gayoso’s 36th minute goal won the game in the meeting between the rivals.
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