Two goals in the second half propelled Pachanga-Diliman FC over Laos FC to move them to the Last Eight of the 2015 United Football League (UFL) Cup, Sunday evening at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
It was a tight first half as both teams tried to breach the opposing defense for a breakthrough. However, the Division II champions had the first opportunity to break the deadlock at the eighth minute. Cheick Ahmed Camara collected a through pass on the flank and tapped the ball from close range. The forward, unfortunately, was called for the offside infraction.
On the other hand, Pachanga-Diliman took the lion’s share of possession and had several attempts towards the Laos goal. Hossein Doustdarsefidmazgi and Davide Cortina fueled the offense of the black-shirts, only Captain Hamed Hajimehdi and Jinggoy Valmayor failed to convert. Valmayor had two clear chances at 16th and 40th minutes that were both blocked by opposing Keeper Oliver Moreno. The halftime whistle was sounded with goose eggs on the scoreboard.
In the second half, the visitors picked up from where they left off, and this time they made it count. At the 46th minute, Doustdarsefidmazgi received a pass from Cortina and fired from the top of the box past Moreno for the go-ahead goal. Nonetheless, Pachanga-Diliman did not let up the offensive pressure. In a following play, Jayson Cutamora sent a ball inside the box, but no one was there to finish.
Six minutes after the first one, the visitors doubled their lead. Doustdarsefidmazgi rescued the ball from going out and delivered it to the penalty area. Cortina blasted the ball into the onion bag for his team’s second goal.
Sensing the pressure, Laos tried to reply from counterattack. Two consecutive attempts at the 67th and 68th minutes from Aaron Altiche and Patrik Franksson, respectively. Nevertheless, they were bravely collected by Pachanga-Diliman custodian Ace Villanueva. The visitors pushed for another goal in the succeeding minutes, however, only Laos was able to stand their ground to deny further damage on the result. Minutes before the final whistle was blown, however, Laos’ misfortune worsened when two players from the white-shirts were sent off. Figo Elhabib fouled Step Permanes and was booked for his second yellow of the match. On the other hand, Shayan Jafary Dastjerdi tackled compatriot Hajimehdi hard to the ground and was given a direct red card.
Pachanga-Diliman FC walked away with the win and sealed their slot into the quarterfinals, where they face Stallion FC.
