University of the Philippines secured the second UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Men’s Football Final Four berth after Arthur Kaufmann’s late equalizer salvaged a 1-1 draw against Far Eastern University on Sunday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
Kaufmann, a second-year midfielder out of Club Med Academies in the United States, capitalized on the Tamaraws’ failure to clear a set piece, tapping the ball in from close range in the 89th minute to level the match for the Fighting Maroons.
UP, which was also held to a 2-2 draw by FEU on October 18, nearly snatched all three points late in the contest, but subsequent attempts from Joseph Garces and Joses Azur missed the target.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
The draw lifted UP to second place with 18 points, moving ahead of De La Salle University (17 points), which was facing archrival Ateneo de Manila University as of press time. League leader Adamson University (19 points) was the first team to secure a semifinals berth.
“Since the Final Four is secured, we’re looking now to get more confidence going towards the semifinals,” said coach Popoy Clarino. “Again, it’s a tight race. All teams have come out guns blazing, and it’s going to be a very exciting semifinals this year.”
Kaufmann’s late goal offset a sluggish start for the Fighting Maroons, who struggled to find their rhythm in the opening half. Anito Joerby and Rustel Buenafe had opportunities to break the deadlock for the Tamaraws, but neither could find the back of the net.
FEU eventually drew first blood in first-half stoppage time (45+2’), with captain Selwyn Mamon converting a penalty past UP goalkeeper William Oberes after Charles Lobitaña fouled Jomari Masangkay inside the box.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
Mamon had a prime opportunity to double FEU’s advantage in the second half, but Oberes came up with a crucial save to deny him — a missed opportunity that ultimately proved costly for the Tamaraws.
The draw kept FEU in fifth place with 10 points, leaving its Final Four hopes hanging by a thread with only two matches remaining on its calendar.
“For this game, we were sloppy,” added Clarino. “We were slow. We were slow to win the first ball. We were slow to recover the second ball. This was a good opportunity for some of the players to step up. We were hoping that, you know, the team would step up. We look forward to going back to training to fix everything.”
Both teams will return to action against the University of the East at the same venue, with UP kicking off first on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., followed by FEU on Sunday at 2 p.m.
