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It’s not every day you can say that a game had everything
Free-flowing attacking football, good defense, a scuffle, a red card, and a wonder goal were on show as the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons downed the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, 1-0, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
“First half I thought we were very static,” commented UP mentor Anto Gonzales as his wards started their UAAP Season 80 Men’s Football Tournament campaign with a victory. “We had much of the possession but we weren’t creating a lot of penetrations because our midfielders were like Meralco posts.”
It was an entertaining contest right from kickoff. The two schools sought an early advantage and favored an attacking approach, to the delight of the live audience. Ateneo forwards Sam Lim and Jarvey Gayoso shot narrowly wide, while JB Borlongan’s attempt was just inches over the bar.
No goals arrived before the break, although the positive intent was there for all to see. Aside from the offense, though, both teams showed strong defending in order to keep each other out.
However, things went from great to worse after the restart. While the two teams had their chances to draw first blood, the game took an unsavoury turn. After Gayoso was called for a foul by the referee, a scuffle suddenly broke out in front of the UP bench.
Due to the tussle, both Lim and UP’s Fidel Tacardon were given yellow cards for their participation, and the former was sent off as it was his second caution for the game. There was, unfortunately, also an unidentified fan from the UP side who threw an object at the Ateneo bench.
Once cooler heads prevailed and play resumed, the game went at a faster pace. It was perhaps fitting that a special goal was needed to mark the fixture, and JB Borlongan provided it in the 76th minute to break the deadlock for the Fighting Maroons.
Already down a man and a goal, Ateneo tried to mount a comeback to no avail. Gayoso was marked down, and his last-gasp attempt in stoppage time failed to properly test UP goalie Jose Yared.
“The key in the second half was the movement. I thought we created more spaces for four forwards with the movements of the midfielders but Ateneo was also unlucky to have a man sent off. We’ll take it,” concluded Gonzales.
Borlongan’s goal was all State U needed to get that precious 1-0 win over the defending champions. In a game that had everything, the Fighting Maroons went home with the spoils of war.
Ateneo shall next play the National University on February 11, 9:00 AM, while State U will face the University of the East on February 8, 2:00 PM. Rizal Memorial will be the venue for both games.
