Bucking a poor first half performance, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Booters took home all three points to start their second round campaign in glorious fashion, as they recorded a 2-0 win against the University of the East Red Warriors, Thursday afternoon at the Moro Lorenzo Football Field in Katipunan, Quezon City.
The result now puts UST in joint fourth place together with National University Bulldogs, as both of them have 10 points on the board. The Red Warriors stay in sixth, tied with the De La Salle University Green Archers, who also have five points.
Even if there were no goals in the first 45 minutes, there were a good number of chances. Both teams entered the game knowing that points on the board would pile pressure on the Bulldogs.
The first decent opportunity to open the scoring went to UE, who have been picking up steam lately in the tournament. Their last goalscorer, Mar Diano, met a neat corner delivery by teammate Jasper Absalon seven minutes into the contest. However, the sophomore’s attempt inside the box went wide.
Four minutes later, the Tigers came up with a chance of their own as Ken Tuzon found Renz Gumban, who thought of smashing the ball from 20 yards out. It did not pay off, however, as he couldn’t guide it on target. His teammate Onyok Busmion also tried his luck from distance moments later, but with the same result.
In an end-to-end affair, it was only a matter of time before the Red Warriors took their turn to put the UST defense to the test. In the 18th minute, Rino Saldivar broke past Tuzon to get him plenty of room in the left side of the box. To his team’s rescue, Ian de Castro managed to intervene just in time to bother Saldivar and win possession back to the Tomasinos.
Another dangerous attack came to play when Bon Opeña located Absalon, who then set up Mark Lerion inside the box. Unmarked, the UE midfielder forced Zaldy Abraham into action, with the UST goalkeeper standing his ground by making a decent save.
Gaining confidence, UE had another opportunity to break the deadlock thanks to the perseverance of Mar Diano. The Red Warrior forward sprinted down the left flank to catch the UST defense unawares. The move was promising, but a poor first touch deprived him of a shot, with the ball rolling towards Abraham.
Approaching halftime, UE nearly broke the deadlock through Lerion with three minutes to go. He beat Abraham in a free kick attempt near the edge of the box but was denied by the woodwork. Regil Galaura was there for the rebound, and had a penalty claim turned down after UST captain Darryl Regala appeared to have clipped his ankles on his way to striking the rebound.
“Everyone first half wala talaga. [I’m] not satisfied. Yung game namin parang walang control. Parang hindi yun yung football namin eh. Sinasabi namin nga, di ka mananalo kung di ka mag-a-attempt. Yung adjustment lang during halftime is try your best na mag-shoot tayo,” UST head coach Marjo Allado bared after the game.
With Allado expressing dismay in their first half showing, the Tigers responded right at the start of the second 45, and were rewarded five minutes after the whistle. Sending a cross to the box, Darwin Busmion found Gumban, who positioned himself excellently to nod the ball into the net.
Taking the initiative, UST did not settle for the narrow lead and took control of the game in their pursuit to cushion the advantage. They stood firm on defense to neutralize the rattled Red Warriors’ attacks, and played good balls on the counter to put UE on the back foot.
This approach almost yielded to a second goal in the 67th minute, again for Gumban, who had all the time and space to beat Rieza inside the box. Fortunately for UE, the attempt smashed against the bar and the succeeding shot taken by Jayson Rafol struck the UE goalkeeper, who was already down in the box.
Gumban was in the thick of things once more 16 minutes before time, as he crossed the ball towards Jopridale Molino, but the substitute failed to hit the target from close range.
Relentless throughout the second half, the Tigers claimed the inevitable second goal through another game changer in Conrado Dimacali. The rookie made his way on the left wing, shrugging off JRV Malayo and sneaking a shot into the near post, which was good enough to beat the helpless Rieza on goal.
The score stayed at 2-0 come full time, a result that Allado is totally satisfied with. “Kailangan talaga namin na magstart nang panalo this second round kasi when it comes to points, kapag hindi kasi kami manalo mababaon kami,” one of the league’s esteemed mentors said after the game.
UST will look to start another winning run against the Adamson University Soaring Falcons on Sunday, while UE will also see action on the same day against DLSU. The matches will be held at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
