Coming from their first win of the season last Thursday, the University of the East Red Warriors tallied another valuable point after an early goal from Mar Diano could only be cancelled by Audie Menzi’s free kick, leaving both them and the Far Eastern University settling for a 1-1 draw Sunday evening at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
The game got off to a bright start, with UE taking the lead in as early as the sixth minute. Louie Polinag’s free kick delivery was met by the alert Mar Diano, who caught RJ Joyel off guard by nodding the ball into the back of the net.
Eleven minutes later, Resty Monterona gave away a free kick right at the edge of the box when he fouled Regil Galaura. The free kick was in a promising position, so it was disappointing that Jo Mallen was unable to profit after his free kick delivery was easily cleared by FEU.
The Tamaraws actually had more of the ball in the early minutes of the game, but struggled to break the Warriors’ defense down. It was not until the 21st minute that FEU managed a decent effort on target, coming from Val Jurao. The winger launched a shot from a tight angle after beating UE goalkeeper Frank Rieza to the ball. Unfortunately for him, Rhoyet Sola stood on the way, clearing the shot with a diving header a few inches away from goal.
Facing a deficit, FEU worked hard to bring themselves level and were duly rewarded in the 25th minute. Audie Menzi whipped a magnificent free kick from 40 yards high before falling straight into the back of the net, deceiving everyone, including UE keeper Rieza.
With the score level, both teams approached the game aggressively, looking to go ahead before the halftime whistle. Their attacks looked promising, but neither materialized to separate them at the break.
In the second half, FEU began the game with more urgency compared to how they had started. This made the game more open as it prompted both teams to go for the crucial third goal.
The first decent chance in the second half came in the 55th minute by the way of the Tamaraws, as Jurao saw his shot smothered by Rieza. A busy goalkeeper, the rookie also had to be on his toes to stop Rico Andes, who fired amidst a scramble inside the box.
The Red Warriors then took their turn in the 68th minute. Diano took a free kick that was initially too strong for Joyel to hold onto. It invited Galaura to go for the rebound, but the FEU keeper recovered in time to make sure they didn’t go behind. Seven minutes later, Diano found teammate Galaura, who was nicely set up to retake the lead for UE. However, the third year player had his attempt deflected out for a corner.
Towards the end it was still everyone’s game, with FEU just edging UE in terms of possession. Both had glorious opportunities to snatch all the points, beginning with UE, as Mallen managed to round past Joyel but was just unable to aim properly and was instead caught by the FEU defense.
FEU’s Dave Deloso, on the other hand, was unlucky that his diving header was not enough to beat Rieza. With no goals coming in the second half, both teams had to settle for a stalemate, which looks to have pleased UE more than FEU.
“Sobrang ganda ng nilaro namin. So far ito yung pinakamagandang laro na nakita ko sa UAAP,” UE Coach Fitch Florence Arboleda noted after the match. Assessing his team after the first seven games, the newly-appointed coach believes his team has what it takes to compete, like how they did against FEU today.
“Nandoon ‘yung UE. Ang nagiging problema lang namin ‘yung mistakes namin. Sana makaadjust kami… For the second round, talagang abangan nila kami,” the former Red Warrior declared.
The UE Red Warriors have officially ended their first round campaign with a 1-2-4 win-draw-loss record, similar to the De La Salle University Green Archers.
As for FEU Head Coach Vince Santos, he has mixed thoughts regarding how the Tamaraws performed. He praised the boys for the resilience displayed after falling behind for the first time this season, yet felt gutted by not making their dominance count.
“We had some chances we didn’t convert. I feel we still have more control of the game, but unless you convert your chances it’s just possession,” the first year FEU coach lamented.
The Tamaraws now have a 4-2-0 win-draw-loss record enough for third place in the standings. They will overtake the University of the Philippines in second if they manage to get a win over Ateneo de Manila University this coming Thursday.
