THE ATENEO Men’s Football Team (AMFT) continued their preseason stint with a draw against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 3-3, earlier today at the University of the Philippines Diliman Football Field in Quezon City.
This result puts the Blue Eagles at a 2-1-0 win-draw-loss standing in the Ang Liga Season 19 Division 1 tournament.
The Growling Tigers opened the contest with offensive vigor, challenging Ateneo defenders and rookie keeper Alfonso Loja at the box. Nearly 10 minutes in, UST fired a long shot from the free center of the field, earning them their first goal of the afternoon. In hopes for a counter at the 13th minute, Galen Fernandez’s attempt to connect with Kofi Agyei proved unsuccessful, as did the rest of the Blue Eagles’ chances to score early in the first half.
Ateneo’s perseverance on the offense prevailed at the 20th minute as the equalizer came off Matti Roxas’s cross-pass to Luard Abaa, who successfully drove the ball into UST’s goal, 1-1. However, the España-based squad wasted no time in claiming the upper hand once again after a one-against-two shot from the middle rendered Loja unable to collect the UST strike, 2-1.
Determined to level the playing field, Ateneo continued to maneuver through the feisty Growling Tigers, as Abaa did not waste an opportunity for a clean one-touch goal from Fernandez’s cross at the 46th-minute mark, 2-2.
The heated match-up continued in the second half as ball possession and game momentum juggled between the two squads. Ateneo opened with key substitutions such as Leo Maquiling, who hustled to create scoring opportunities, and Artuz Cezar, who guarded the post against eager UST attackers. However, in a moment of shaky defense from Ateneo, UST quickly regrouped for a solid header to regain the lead for the España-based group, 3-2.
With victory in sight for the Growling Tigers, the Blue and White played with utmost urgency in hopes of tying the game once again. At the 94th minute of the game, a corner kick found Nico Matugas score for a header to snatch the win from UST, ending the match in a draw, 3-3.
After the intense battle, Abaa noted that their preserving mentality allowed them to keep in step with UST all throughout the match. “Never give up. That’s a mentality na tinuturo sa amin ni coach; nilalagay kami sa scenarios na kunwari ‘yung team namin, one goal down. From the captain to the bench, alam namin kaya naming bumawi,” he shares.
(Never give up. That’s a mentality being taught by our coach; we are put in scenarios where, hypothetically, our team is one goal down. From the captain to the bench, we know we can make up for it.)
The Blue Eagles look to get back in the win column as they face the University of the East Red Warriors, on Saturday, September 23, at 2:00 PM, in the same venue.
