Second-rate squad no more
JP Voltes FC dispatched Team Socceroo, 9-0, in the second leg of the playoffs (12-1 on aggregate), to advance to the Division I of the United Football League (UFL) for next year, Tuesday, August 11, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Trailing after the first leg, Team Socceroo FC tried to put up an early goal. However, Justin Mengane could not find his intended target on a free kick at the fifth minute mark. The home side also had their first few chances; nonetheless, Mikko Mabanag could not finish from the middle. The deadlock, however, would be broken soon enough.
At the 17th minute, Dominic Del Rosario found room to operate from the right flank, and blasted the ball into the back of the net to score the breakthrough goal of the night. The offensive pressure did not let up from the Green and White, as Mabanag was just denied by the crossbar at the next sequence. JP Voltes then picked up the pace and plucked more goals in the first half.
Takashi Odawara connected to his Captain, Chihiro Noda, who punished the ball past opposing Keeper, Baba Sampana, to double the lead at the 34th minute. Noda eventually registered his second of the match just before the halftime whistle was blown. The JP Voltes skipper weaved past Sampana and tapped the ball into the net to push the lead to 3-0 at the half.
The home side did not stop from this onslaught, as they pushed for more goals in the second half. Building from great distribution and passing, JP Voltes has executed well on offense and was rewarded with more points on the board. Just four minutes from restart, Del Rosario made it 4-0 when he flicked the ball over Sampana from the top of the box. His team further padded the gap two minutes before the hour mark. The other winger, John Celiz, got a pass from the left and fired a shot into the onion bag.
As if the scoreline was not enough, Noda outsmarted his defender, and chipped an attempt from outside the box and past Sampana for a hat-trick, scoring his team’s sixth of the match. At the 69th minute, a brilliant pass from Yuta Nakagaito connected to Del Rosario on the right wing. The Philippine U23 Midfielder then crossed it to Noda, who headed the ball past the goal line. Two minutes after, Del Rosario stamped his own hat-trick of the match when he chipped another point from the middle.
With their place in the Division I well in the bag, Noda put an exclamation point on the clinical win with his fifth goal of the match and the team’s ninth. The final whistle was sounded and JP Voltes FC erupted in celebration of their promotion for next year’s season with the victory.
JP Voltes Head Coach, Kyo Nagami, expressed his pride with his wards after getting through the playoffs and securing that promotion to top-tier football next year. He said that his confidence escalated after the first leg. Nagami exclaimed, “The first game is important. We won 3-1. At the time, I trusted them [to win the playoff].” Despite this, the mentor also has his apprehensions on how they will perform in the Cup, but expressed that they will make some adjustments to compete in Division I next season.
