THE ATENEO Men’s Football Team won their third straight match of the season in their 5-1 victory over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers on Sunday, February 12, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The win puts the Blue Eagles at a 3-0-0 record with a +11 goal difference in Season 79 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Football tournament.
The Growling Tigers started the match aggressively, winning a free kick and a corner within the first four minutes of the match. However, Blue Eagles’ Keeper AJ Arcilla was able to contain it in both situations.
Jarvey Gayoso put Ateneo in the lead six minutes later. He quickly pounced on a bounced ball inside the box and took a shot with his left foot. The ball sailed over the keeper and into the back of the net. The Growing Tigers were able to equalize a mere minute later, after AJ Pasion scored after a scramble inside their box.
The first yellow card of the game came in the 21st minute, after a reckless tackle by a UST defender took Jordan Jarvis down. In the 31st minute, UST had another great opportunity from a free kick take, but Arcilla contained it with another great save.
The Blue Eagles were in scoring position in the 33rd minute, after Gayoso’s pass from the wing eventually found Castillo open just inside the box, but his shot went wide. They finally scored their second of the match, from a corner. Haosen’s strong volley near the right post off Gayoso’s corner kick doubled the score for the boys in blue.
Ateneo nearly got their third goal a few minutes later, but the UST keeper got a hand on the free kick by Gayoso. The score was 2-1 by halftime, with an assist and goal by the second-year striker.
The Blue Eagles got their third goal of the match 14 minutes after the halftime break. Gayoso threaded a pinpoint pass to a streaking Rupert Baña– who had just entered the game a few minutes before– open at the left side of the box. His clinical right-footed finish was no match for the keeper, as the score ballooned to 3-1 in favor of Ateneo.
The Growling Tigers attempted to answer back with a great free kick opportunity at the 64th minute, but Arcilla saved it yet again. Busmion and Pasion were each in scoring position during the 72nd and 74th minute, respectively, but luckily for Ateneo, both their shots sailed over the cross bar.
In the 84th minute, Paolo Alilam entered for Gayoso and scored seconds later after a scramble inside the box which extended the lead for Ateneo. He was not finished there, as he completed a 10-minute brace after scoring in a 1v1 against the UST keeper. He received the ball in a dangerous scoring position, and dribbled past the charging keeper en route to an open goal.
After the match, Ateneo Coach Jaypee Merida was thrilled with the result and impressed with the offensive showing the team had. “Sa game ngayon, ang ganda talaga ng counter attack,” said Merida (The counter attacking of the team was very good). He added that their next match-up against La Salle will be a tough one due to the similar styles of both squads. “[La Salle plays the] same formation, so mahirap mag-adjust kasi back-five din sila,” Merida explained. “Kailangan namin hanapin paano gawing paraan ang La Salle kasi ang bilis nila mag-recover sa defensive third (We have to find a way around La Salle because they recover fast in the defensive third.)”
As mentioned above, Ateneo’s next match will be against their arch rivals De La Salle University on Thursday, February 16, 4:00 PM at the Moro Lorenzo Field, Quezon City.
Starting XIs:
Ateneo: Arcilla, Castillo, Ceniza, Gayoso, Grierson, Haosen, Jarvis, Lim, Poe, Rocha, Roxas
UST: Abraham, Benecio, Bricenio, Busmion, De Castro, Busmion, Gumban, Menares, Molino, Pasion, Regala
The Blue Eagles were led by Gayoso, who had a goal and two assists, while Alilam scored a brace to continue the team’s unbeaten run.
https://storify.com/TheGUIDONSports/uaap-season-79-men-s-football-ateneo-vs-ust
