The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons put in a commanding display as they claimed their second win in as many games, with a 3-0 victory against the University of the East Red Warriors, Thursday afternoon at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Usual suspects Kintaro Miyagi and Jeremiah Borlongan supplied the goals for Anto Gonzales’ team, who now solely sit on top of the table.
The UP mentor lauded his team’s performance, labelling it as patient and disciplined, particularly in the first half. “We stuck with the game plan and we were very patient with our buildup. The execution of the plan during our training sessions they did it very well,” the mentor elaborated.
Both teams won in their first outing this season and came into the match determined to keep their 100 percent record intact. At the end of the day, it was the more-experienced UP team who stamped their class against the quickly-improving UE squad.
There were no surprises with the way the first half turned out, as UP enjoyed vast wealth of possession. The Maroons forced their opponents to defend for much of the first half.
For the first 25 minutes or so, the Red Warriors were able to keep the Maroons quiet. UP launched a few attempts to test Frank Rieza, but otherwise maintained patient in breaking down a well-organized UE defense.
All that changed just before the half-hour mark, when a smart play led to a score change. Fidel Tacardon found a lurking Miyagi inside the box. The forward then smartly flicked the ball beyond Rieza’s reach, before coolly sliding it to the back of the net.
A second soon followed in the 39th minute, when Borlongan whipped the ball into the top corner to make matters more comfortable for the Diliman-based XI, who entered the halftime break with a comfortable and deserved 2-0 lead.
UE played slightly better in the second half, as they had a bigger share of the ball. While it meant more activity for the red and white inside UP’s half, a sturdy UP backline kept them dormant.
Instead of clawing one back, the Warriors actually gave away a third goal to the Maroons. A rare Rieza error allowed Miyagi to easily dribble the ball to the goal, 57 minutes into the encounter. There could have been easily a quick fourth or even fifth had Borlongan and Miyagi converted their shots inside the box.
Towards the end, UE nearly plucked a consolation goal. Jasper Absalon’s cheeky attempt in the 89th minute was tipped over the bar by the alert Jose Yared, who’d had little to do before that moment. Soon the final whistle sounded, confirming a well-deserved win for the Fighting Maroons.
Gonzales credits his team’s strong start to their drive to achieve their goal. “This is a hungry bunch. Very motivated. Actually we don’t need any extra motivation to get them fired up and be focused on their goal which is to improve every single game.”
Never totally satisfied until the end, the former UP midfielder-turned-coach tagged the need to further improve sharpness on the attack, as they look to become a stronger unit after each game.
UP’s next assignment comes on Thursday against the Adamson University Falcons.
