Pachanga Diliman FC opened their UFL Cup campaign with a rousing victory over Fleet Marine FC, 5-0, Saturday, May 9, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Collegiate standout Jinggoy Valmayor opened the scoring for the Division I mainstays in the 19th minute. In the build up to that play, The former UAAP Best Striker was able to fend off his defenders on the right wing and sent a cross to Step Permanes, which Permanes crossed back into the box for Valmayor to tap in for the goal.
By the 28th minute, Hamed Haji Mehdi joined the scoring after getting a pass from Valmayor and quickly fired the ball into the net. The former UP Maroon continued to display his stellar offensive plays, and finally registered a brace three minutes before the half. Pachanga Midfielder Anto Gonzales found Valmayor on the run and sent a long lob pass that the latter calmly guided into the goal to end the half with a 3-0 lead.
It was a dominant second half for the Division I mainstays as they kept most of the possession. Pachanga Diliman moved well without the ball and had more fluidity from the middle to the attacking third in this period, but the gray-shirts could not finish their chances until more than 10 minutes remained before the end of the match. At the 73rd minute, substitute Hossein Doustdarsefidmazgi sent a perfectly timed assist to Davide Cortina for the fourth goal. Six minutes after, skipper Haji Mahdi doubled his score to seal the deal for his team’s dominant debut, 5-0.
Coach Francis Liza of Pachanga Diliman FC said that he expected his team to win by a bigger margin. He added that the team needs to work on their finishing in able to score more and in order to win games. When asked to comment on their improved movement in the second half, the young coach said, “We added experienced players to improve our fluidity.” Liza shared that his team might have a hard time against Agila MSA FC on their next game. “Yung mga players nila from college, [from] Ateneo. Baka mahirapan kami,” he said. However, the coach ended by saying that they will work on their finishing in order to win that game.
Group B action continues on Tuesday, May 12, as Pachanga Diliman FC tries to follow up on this victory against Agila MSA FC. Fleet Marine FC on the other hand, will face the undefeated Kaya FC on the same day.
