University of the East saw its UAAP Season 87 Men’s Football Final Four hopes dashed after a 3-3 draw against Final Four-bound Ateneo on Thursday at the UP Football Stadium.
UE needed maximum points from its last two matches to force a playoff for the No. 4 spot but fell short despite a spirited performance.
Eldrin Madrid struck twice, while Jam Rey Mariveles also found the back of the net for the Red Warriors.
However, they were unable to capitalize late in the match, even after Ateneo went down to 10 men following Jethro Flores’ dismissal in stoppage time for a second yellow card.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
The Red Warriors rued conceding an early goal when Ryan Lim scored for Ateneo in the 9th minute.
Despite responding with goals from Madrid and Mariveles, Ateneo’s Joaquin Collo and Leo Maquiling equalized in the 31st and 52nd minutes, respectively, keeping the Blue Eagles level throughout the match.
“Well, first of all, the first goal that we conceded is definitely a mistake from our goalkeeper (Jan Tambilawan). But if you take a look at how we bounced back in the game, you can see the improvement of the team. But it’s too late for the Final Four,” said UE coach Frank Muescan.
He added, “The good thing is we improved in scoring and the goals we created. It shows that these players at UE have a long-term future ahead of them. Maybe in the next season, we’ll see.”
With one match remaining in the eliminations, UE now has nine points, five behind fourth-placed University of Santo Tomas.
The Red Warriors entered the match needing to sweep their final two fixtures. They also had to hope that UST would stay at 14 points and De La Salle would falter to force a playoff.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Ateneo, meanwhile, solidified its position at the top of the table with 25 points.
The Blue Eagles, with their Final Four berth secured, will face UST on Sunday to finalize their ranking.
As for UE, Muescan hopes his team can finish the season on a high note in their last match against Adamson University, also scheduled for Sunday.
“We’re positive that we can secure a win in our last match. Kung baga, yun na yung bonus namin eh. But we really have to prepare for that. We still have two more days to prepare. It’s very, very important for the match,” Muescan said. (TJ)
