THE BLUE Eagles emerged as the victors, prevailing 4-3 in a heart-stopping thriller against Far Eastern University (FEU) in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Football tournament on Sunday, March 4 at the Rizal Memorial Football Field in Manila.
The triumph catapults the Blue and White into second place at the close of the first elimination round. Ateneo holds a 5-0-2 record and sits just two points behind the University of the Philippines (UP).
Jarvey Gayoso broke open a tense match before FEU’s Gilbert Mendoza blitzed a shell-shocked Ateneo defensive line with two goals in the final minute of the first half. Gayoso fired again after halftime, followed shortly by a goal from Julian Roxas. Mendoza responded by completing his hat-trick, but Haosen’s header with two minutes remaining secured all three points for the Blue Eagles.
Gayoso opened the scoring in the 19th minute. The forward broke free after a scramble outside the box, lulling his defender to sleep before slotting the ball in the back of the net. FEU, however, nearly responded five minutes later through Donngyu Jung’s deadly attempt from distance, but Arcilla reacted quickly to deny the equalizer.
19’ – GOAL! A scramble outside the box sets Gayoso free. He sells the defender dreams before firing sharply into the corner!
Ateneo 1 FEU 0#UAAPFootball pic.twitter.com/oiYzTDKGyj
— Joaquin A. Santos (@Joax_TheGUIDON) March 4, 2018
Shambolic defending by the Blue Eagles shipped them a pair of goals before halftime. A relentless counterattack by FEU caused a scramble inside the box, leading to a Mendoza equalizer in the second minute of added time. The striker proceeded to double his tally a minute later, chipping a goal seconds before the halftime whistle.
45’ + 3 – Goal for FEU. Relentless counterattack leaves Blue Eagle defense in shambles, resulting to a scramble inside the box. Mendoza capitalizes on the chaos to equalize.
Ateneo 1 FEU 1 #UAAPFootball pic.twitter.com/h0HgnEHNbk
— Joaquin A. Santos (@Joax_TheGUIDON) March 4, 2018
45’ + 3 – Goal for FEU. Alcoresa takes advantage of a scrambled Ateneo defense to chip over Arcilla and send FEU into the lead with the final kick of the half!
Ateneo 1 FEU 2#UAAPFootball pic.twitter.com/aoMU9Bxm1w
— Joaquin A. Santos (@Joax_TheGUIDON) March 4, 2018
Erratum:
ERRATUM: Mendoza scored FEU’s 2nd. He finishes with a hat-trick for the match.#UAAPFootball
— Joaquin A. Santos (@Joax_TheGUIDON) March 4, 2018
Ateneo entered the second half with a renewed sense of urgency, especially in the defensive third. Gayoso levelled the playing field and pulled Ateneo even in the 66th minute, heading in a stellar cross by Carlitos Mathay to earn his second goal of the afternoon.
66’ – GOAL! Mathay combines smartly with Haosen and speeds away before whipping in a perfect cross from the left. Gayoso powers a header past Paras to pull Ateneo even!
Ateneo 2 FEU 2#UAAPFootball pic.twitter.com/hd32zrUZmc
— Joaquin A. Santos (@Joax_TheGUIDON) March 4, 2018
The Blue Eagles then reclaimed the lead in the 73rd minute, courtesy of an inch-perfect ball from the corner to Jimi Haosen. The headed ball skimmed the post, but Julian Roxas found himself in the right place at the right time and pounced to give his team the advantage.
73’ – GOAL! Julian Roxas pounces on the ball off Haosen’s header to claim the lead!
Ateneo 3 FEU 2#UAAPFootball pic.twitter.com/UmV7Edn8Rp
— Joaquin A. Santos (@Joax_TheGUIDON) March 4, 2018
Undeterred, the Tamaraws continued to put pressure on the Blue Eagles, resulting in a 82nd minute equalizer by Mendoza for his third goal of the match. The FEU forward broke free on the left and calmly slotted the ball past Arcilla’s near post.
82’ – Goal for FEU. Mendoza darts in from the left to catch Ateneo’s high line and tucks it past Arcilla’s near post.
Ateneo 3 FEU 3#UAAPFootball pic.twitter.com/HQA87zXz6L
— Joaquin A. Santos (@Joax_TheGUIDON) March 4, 2018
The Blue Eagles had the final word with an 88th minute strike. Haosen broke wide from Rupert Bana’s lofted free kick, heading the ball past Dave Parac to shatter the impasse. FEU ran out of steam in the final minutes as the Blue Eagles held on for the victory.
88’ – GOAL! Haosen breaks wide from Bana’s free-kick and is in perfect position to fire Ateneo back in front!
Ateneo 4 FEU 3#UAAPFootball pic.twitter.com/DeyFfzOtke
— Joaquin A. Santos (@Joax_TheGUIDON) March 4, 2018
While there were some worrying periods in the match, Head Coach Jaypee Merida was very proud of the spirit his players showed. “Ang magandang nangyari especially after the first half, hindi sila nag-give up (The positive from today was that they did not give up, especially after the first half),” said Merida. “Of course, may mga moment na nag-aalternate lang yung overconfidence and character, so we need to fix our mentality especially in the second round.”
Starting XIs:
Ateneo: Arcilla (GK); Castillo, Dy, Rocha, G. Poe, Mathay; Herrera, Ceniza, Roxas (c); Gayoso, Alilam
FEU: Parac (GK); Saldivar, Menzi (c), Bungay, Salilig; Jung, Lofranco, Canonigo; Alcoresa, Mendoza, Rayos
Substitutions:
45’ – Bana on for Castillo
45’ – Gaudiel on for Herrera
45’ – Haosen on for Alilam
86’ – Grierson on for Dy
86’ – Nacional on for Mathay
