It was raining goals to start the second round of the 2015 United Football League (UFL) Division I action as Green Archers United FC pulled the rag off Pachanga Diliman FC, 9-5, Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Two early goals from either side were a sign of things to come in this second round opener. Pachanga Diliman went ahead inside the second minute mark with a Hossein Doustdarsefidmazgi goal off a pass from Nathan Octavio. Thirteen minutes after, it was the Green Archers who scored. Robert Lopez Mendy connected to Jimuel Ariola who got the back of the net to equalize. The prolific striker then saw Pachanga’s keeper Steve Yambou off his line and punished him for that defensive lapse with a strike and grabbed the lead for the black-shirts. At the restart, Doustdarsefidmagi sent a cross inside the box, only to be cleared by the leading side. Green Archers then stole the ball. Lopez Mendy drove inside the box and defeats Yambou with another goal for his team’s third. He then added another goal in the 27th minute from a delivery by Jhan-Jhan Melliza. After several attempts by Pachanga, Jinggoy Valmayor finally broke the Archers’ defense in the 37th minute to reduce the deficit to two. Just as the halftime whistle was blown, Melliza connected another one to extend his team’s lead at the half, 5-2.
It was back-and-forth action throughout the entire first half as both teams seem to be lacking defensive stances. This scenario continued in the second period. Pachanga Diliman’s play improved at the start of the payoff canto as two successive goals from captain Hamed Hajimehdi and Valmayor reduced the lead back to one, 4-5. Hajimehdi found a gap in the Green Archers’ defense and slotted the ball from inside the box at the 48th minute. Ten minutes after, Valmayor fired a shot from a far that caught Green Archers custodian Pascual off guard.
The game’s drama reached its height at the 60th minute. Pachanga’s goalie Yambou kept on going near the edge of the penalty area and the opponent made him paid for it with frequent incursions into the box. At that point, the game’s top scorer Lopez Mendy tried to flick the ball for Mahmoud Ali to clear. However, the winger was caught using his arm to deflect the ball and was sent off. Lopez Mendy calmly sank the bonus to restore his side’s two-point lead. Hajimehdi then retaliated for the white-shirts at the 67th minute. The Pachanga captain escaped past Ronnie Aguisanda and guided the ball for the goal.
It was the last hurrah for the home squad as three more goals sealed the win for the Green Archers United. Robert Cañedo went inside the box to drive his team’s sixth goal in the 72nd minute. Melliza then made it 8-2 nine minutes from that shot. Similar to what happened during the first half, Tating Pasilan sneaked another goal just before the final whistle to peg the final count.
Coach Rodolfo Alicante of Green Archers United was pleased with the way his wards played offensively. The long-time mentor said, “Medyo nag-improve kami sa offense.” Alicante shared that they worked on tactical adjustments during the break and remarked that such changes worked as evident on their goals. However, the tactician said that they need to work on their defense. “Naka-5 goals yung kalaban, hindi maganda,” he stated. The team has to play better defense when they play Kaya on their next match on Wednesday, June 24 2015. Pachanga on the other hand will take on league leaders Ceres-La Salle FC on Tuesday, June 23 2015.
