Banking on Jet Dela Cruz’s first-half goal, the Ateneo Men’s Football Team (AMFT) outlasted the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Booters for their first University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 victory, 1-0. The grit-and-grind affair in the tournament’s second week took place earlier this afternoon at the University of the Philippines Diliman Football Field in Quezon City.
Right after kickoff, the Blue Eagles started on the wrong foot as they found difficulty in keeping possession of the ball. Ateneo struggled to gain momentum as the Golden Booters pressed on their own half of the pitch, applying pressure to the defense every time they tried to advance.
Using their early ball pressure and aggressive attacking in the first 15 minutes of the match, UST was able to create multiple chances yet could only manage to generate shots off target.
With the Golden Booters failing to capitalize on their possessions-based advantage, the Katipunan-based squad regained composure and started to find momentum. The Ateneo midfield obtained their passing touch and finally got a significant amount of possession, leading to a more assertive offense 20 minutes into the opening half.
Regaining their footing at the halfway point of the first half, the Blue and White found their first legitimate chance with a Kofi Agyei breakaway which was later deemed offside. However, just a few minutes after, UST’s failed clearance attempt in the 31st minute led to Jett Dela Cruz scoring from just outside the box to put Ateneo up 1-0.
At the onset of the second half, the Growling Tigers took control of the ball through patient passing displays amongst themselves. Combined with timely aggressive offensive attacks, UST was able to attempt two shots by the 48-minute mark.
After a short series of aggression, UST capped off their early offense through a free-kick attempt from Patrick Baito in the 56th minute. Right after their defensive stop, Ateneo immediately responded with a counterattack that otherwise led to a failed setup for an offensive attempt.
As the momentum swung in favor of the AMFT, a flurry of attacks manifested for Ateneo through the offensive wings Agyei and Leo Maquiling. The dynamic duo concluded their barrage of attempts with a missed Agyei shot from a Maquiling pass in the 71st minute.
With time running down, the Golden Booters felt the urgency to at the minimum even the game up to avoid falling in the standings. A swift attempt to score by UST’s Francis Vercide would be halted by Dela Cruz to force a corner kick with 10 minutes left until full time.
The Golden Booters then forced two offensive attempts in under five minutes but would come short due to the Blue Eagles’ stifling defense. With less than a minute left in extra time, Ateneo crushed UST’s equalizing hopes as Fernando Roxas cleared the ball from the defensive end to force the referees to signal the end of full-time.
Dela Cruz mentioned post-game that the long-shot attempt he took that gave Ateneo the advantage was a culmination of lessons he learned from previous games. “Even as a defender, I tried to practice [long shots] cause you never know when you might get the chance [to score]. And in this game, that’s where I just took it,” the premier defender said.
Fresh off today’s win, Ateneo aims to jumpstart a winning streak as they face the University of the East Red Warriors on Thursday, February 29, at 03:00 PM in the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (1): Dela Cruz ‘31
UST (0)
Half scores:
Ateneo-UST: 1-0, 1-0
Ateneo Starting XI:
Artuz Cezar (GK)
Lorenzo Lucindo
Jet Dela Cruz
Kofi Agyei
Leo Maquiling
Jose Lopez
Wilmer Lopez
Luard Abaa
Ildefonse Escobin
Carlo Bautista
Anthony Uy
Current Table (Points)
- DLSU (6)
- ATENEO (4)
- UP (3)
- UST (3)
- AdU (1)
- UE (0)
- FEU (0)
