Two goals in the first half paved way for a comfortable 3-1 win for UE, their first of the season, against the Adamson Soaring Falcons Sunday afternoon at the Moro Lorenzo Football Field in Quezon City.
UE now moves to sixth with three points out of nine, leaving Adamson and UST the only teams without a point in UAAP Season 77.
The game’s first goal came in the 14th minute when Ariel Mallen recovered a ball from just outside the box to smash home against a helpless Carl Viray. After going ahead, the Red Warriors actively sought to score a second goal. The Soaring Falcons, who did a good job in keeping pace with UE, struggled to swing momentum into their favor.
The boys in navy blue, however, obtained advantage when Ramil Feliciano retaliated against Bless Brian Jumo II with a solid punch that did not go unnoticed by the match officials. The hot-headed UE player was shown the red card just a minute after the half-an-hour mark. However, it was UE who found the back of the net soon after. Richard Mayor saw his attempted lob go beyond everyone, including the stranded Viray, before falling kindly into the onion bag. The Red Warriors went to halftime comfortably on top by two precious goals.
The inexperienced Adamson team battled their way back into the match. Unfortunately for them, UE mustered enough experience to keep them from breaching the Reds’ defense. A third goal for UE was due to a quick counter attack that ended with Khyndale Manzo outpacing every Adamson player to poke an easy goal in front of Viray.
The perseverance of Adamson’s players was rewarded 13 minutes from time when Bless Brian Jumo I capitalized on a defensive lapse by UE to pull one back. However, it was insufficient with only a few chances made with little time left on the clock.
