Division II mainstays Agila MSA stifled a run by Team Socceroo in the last minutes to complete an upset, 4-3, to end their 2015 United Football League (UFL) Cup Group B group stage campaign, Sunday, May 24, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Agila MSA had the first chance on the goal at the third minute but shot the ball over the bar. Team Socceroo made the most of their own opportunity five minutes after. Alu Kigbu sent a cross to Masood Shadideh who heads the ball into the back of the net for the initial goal. With the play pretty much open, both teams pushed for another goal. In the following minutes of the first half, it was the red-shirts that had the better of these opportunities. UAAP 77 Rookie of the Year Julian Roxas anchored the offense of the Division II squad with his ball distribution. At the 34th minute, he eluded the defense and had a shot on goal only to be stopped by opposing keeper Baba Sampana. In the ensuing play, Franklin Elondou Elondou found Olayemi Bakare who tapped the ball for the equalizer for Agila. It was a see-saw battle, but no team broke the deadlock at the halftime whistle.
Picking up from where they left off in the latter part of the first half, Agila MSA FC kept their aggressiveness to get ahead in the match. The away side continued to get the ball into their attacking third only to be denied by the defense. In the 52nd minute, the Division II team finally grabbed the lead when Joseph Clottey found himself free and slotted the go-ahead into the goal. Two minutes after, Paolo Casambre was called for a foul inside the box, conceding a penalty for the leading team. Bakare doubled the lead for Agila after he calmly converted the resulting spot kick. The next seven minutes saw Clottey connect on a low cross to Bakare, thus padding the lead, 4-1. Team Socceroo tried to salvage their campaign as time expires when Agila shuffled their backline by substituting Timothy Perdigon with Matthew Jaucian. Alexander Rech then scored twice in the 68th and 80th minute to cut the deficit to one. His team almost scored on their chances, but was denied by the post twice and the opponent’s defense. After 90 minutes, the match ended with a comeback victory by Agila MSA, 4-3, against Team Socceroo.
Agila MSA clinched third place in the group after this victory, while Team Socceroo advances to the Round of 16 knockout stages in fourth place. Postseason for the Cup is slated on July.
