Watching the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons play football is like seeing a clock that continuously works until time runs out.
Patience in possession and pinpoint passing were on show once again as the Fighting Maroons condemned the University of the East Red Warriors to back-to-back defeats with a 3-0 drubbing in the UAAP Season 80 Men’s Football Tournament second round.
“UE played defensively and I thought that we didn’t really break them down. We didn’t get a lot of scoring opportunities considering how much possession we had. But second half we expected them to press which they did,” commented UP coach Anto Gonzales.
UP reclaims first place in the league table with 23 points while UE is stuck at 6th place with 10 points at the time of this writing.
It took the 31st minute for UP to score its first goal of the match. Rieza misjudged the ball’s movement from a corner kick which allowed UP captain Ian Clarino to turn it in during the scramble.
UP still pushed on in search of another goal before the break. Kintaro Miyagi shot narrowly wide when he was through on goal. Shortly after, though, the third-year striker repented and doubled the Fighting Maroons’ lead when he slalomed his way past the Red Warriors defense 41st minute.
The second half followed a similar rhythm to its predecessor. Gonzales’ men constantly surged forward and raided the Red Warriors time and time again. Borlongan was a force to be reckoned with at the left flank and he provided State U’s third goal when he eluded his defender and scored at the 62nd minute.
“We can’t be satisfied with the way that we played in the second half. We changed players but (the substitutes) have to keep a high level of play. They should be able to read the game very well because they’re coming from the bench,” added Gonzales.
State U shall next play National University on March 18, 8:00 AM at Rizal Memorial while UE will also face the same opposition on March 22, 2:00 PM at the Far Eastern University-Diliman field.
