Christian Ricario atoned for an earlier mistake by scoring a bounce-back goal as Adamson University stunned Far Eastern University, 2-0, in the UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Men’s Football Tournament on Thursday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
The victory marked the first time the Soaring Falcons had beaten the Tamaraws since returning to the league in Season 77 in 2015.
Ricario broke the deadlock just three minutes into the second half, capitalizing on a run toward the FEU goal to give Adamson the lead against last season’s finalists.
However, the team captain had earlier put his side’s hopes in jeopardy after accidentally handling the ball with his arm just before halftime, giving FEU a chance to take the lead from the penalty spot.
Fortunately for Ricario and the Soaring Falcons, goalkeeper CJ Lauron came to the rescue. away Tamaraws midfielder Karl Absalon’s penalty for a corner kick. FEU also failed to capitalize on the ensuing set piece.
Rookie Fritz Chua then sealed the breakthrough victory with a strike on the counterattack in the dying moments of the match.
“We organized every time on our defense,” said deputy Lemuel Unabia, who guided the Soaring Falcons while head coach Darlton Digha attended to personal matters. “We focused most of all on defending their personnel. And then, we’re just lucky — we scored two goals against them. But our main objective is to defend against them, because we already know how strong FEU is. And thank you, Lord, He gave us two goals.”
With the victory, Adamson moved into solo first place with 12 points and a plus-seven goal difference. The Soaring Falcons will next face fellow unbeaten side De La Salle University on Sunday at 2:00 PM.
Meanwhile, the Tamaraws will rue their missed opportunities, particularly Absalon’s missed penalty, as they absorbed their second consecutive defeat.
FEU remained at three points despite maintaining a plus-seven goal difference and will look to bounce back against modern-day rival University of the Philippines later on Sunday at 7:00 PM.
