THE ATENEO Men’s Football Team bounced back with a convincing 2-0 victory over the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers on Sunday, April 9 at the Rizal Memorial Field in Manila.
The win puts the Blue Eagles at a 10-2-1 record with a +24 goal difference in Season 79 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Football tournament.
The Blue Eagles’ attacks were listless early on, partly due to the absence of top scorer Jarvey Gayoso, who was suspended. The first real chance came in the eighth minute, after midfielder Enzo Ceniza dribbled through the Green and White defense and fired a shot, which was blocked. La Salle continued to test keeper AJ Arcilla, but the rookie handled the shots calmly with numerous routine saves.
In the 21st minute, Ceniza found fellow rookie Jordan Jarvis open, streaking down the right flank, but the ensuing cross was headed out by a Green Archer defender. Seven minutes later, DLSU Team Captain Iñigo Gonzales was found open by the left post, but he botched the great scoring opportunity by sending the ball over the bar.
The Blue Eagles found themselves ahead at the 37th minute, through Co-Captain Julian Roxas. The midfielder collected the ball a few yards behind the penalty arch, pulled back, and let the ball fly from distance. The shot flew past keeper Almonte and into the top left corner, giving his team the lead. Just before the halftime whistle, DLSU attacker Garcia got past Grierson with a deft dribble, but his shot from the left was calmly handled by Arcilla.
The second half featured more back-and-forth action by the two rivals, but neither squad could get any leverage. The injury bug started to bite Ateneo, with Ceniza being carried off in the 56th minute and Rupert Baña getting stretchered off 13 minutes later. The Green Archers were clearly desperate for a goal, as their final four aspirations hinged on a win, but the Ateneo defense remained solid and fended off the DLSU attacks. Tensions started to get the best of them in the dying moments of the match, after a hard foul on Mathay resulted into a minor dispute between the two squads.
The last chance for La Salle came a few minutes into added time, after they were awarded a free kick a couple of yards behind the box. The ensuing set piece did not come close, as it sailed over the bar. Ateneo put the nail on the coffin in the last minute of extra time, through Sam Lim. The rookie striker pounced on the ball after Haosen’s shot hit the post from a Jarvis low cross. The win allowed the Blue Eagles to stand on top fo the table, and a likely set-up final four match-up with the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
After the match, Coach JayPee Merida was happy with how the result, especially after the loss in the last match. “After the big loss Thursday, the players performed talaga. From the keeper, hanggang sa striker, talagang nagperform,” Merida said. He also expects the likely final four match-up with UST to be tough, warned that the team cannot underestimate them.
Ateneo’s final match of the elimination round will be against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Thursday, April 20, 4PM, at the Moro Lorenzo Field in Ateneo de Manila University.
Starting XIs:
Ateneo: Arcilla (GK); Rocha, Poe, Grierson; Jarvis, Mathay, Ceniza, Roxas, Herrera; Liay, Baña
DLSU: Alcantara, Almonte (GK), Brago, Diamante J., Garcia, Gonzales, Koizumi, Montelibano J., Siggaoat, Villacin, Ybanez
Substitutions:
Ateneo: 55’ Alilam on for Liay, 56’ Haosen on for Ceniza, 69’ Lim on for Baña, 83’ Nacional on for Herrera
DLSU: 40’ Diamante on for Koizumi, 63’ Joseph on for Montelibano, 72’ Acot on for Siggaoat, 74’ Zubiri on for Gonzales,
Yellow Card: 38’ Ybanez
Ateneo is now locked in first seed in the UAAP Football tournament through their convincing win over DLSU, 2-0
https://storify.com/TheGUIDONSports/uaap-season-79-men-s-football-ateneo-vs-dlsu-round
