The UST Tigers go down to FEU with their first loss of the season

"Nakuha mo na yung gusto mo?"

UST Coach Marjo Allado was reasonably angry with star striker Christian de Juan who after diving was carded by the referee. It was his second dive of the game and he was warned for the first.

De Juan had been unable to get his game going in Game 1 against FEU in the UAAP Men's Football Finals. The Tamaraws, the second seed, had attacked relentlessly from the opening whistle as they marked the rookie along with line mate in a 4-4-2 formation, Mario Clariño. The latter, fleet of feet and able to slither through tight defenses, had some spectacular runs against FEU but the finishing was far from exemplary. De Juan, hardly perturbed by the roughhousing, seemed more overexcited. He was whistled for being offside three times leaving him shaking his head.

The Tamaraws put up the first score on the board when striker Jason Cordova was able to corral a well-placed cross inside the box by Jonie Lopez. The 6'1" Cordova, whirled and blasted in a powerful shot at the 22nd minute that UST keeper Johnson Lee virtually had no chance of stopping.

Ironically, it was UST that played better after that. It seemed that the Tamaraws were a little more physical after that while the Tigers concentrated on their game and were getting good shots at the goal that Ronnie Aguisanda covered well save for a near scores by Joe Villanueva, a late game substitution, and a shot by Clariño that hit the crossbar but bounced out. The game became rough and without clear pace. The blistering start of the Tamaraws saw them slow down and defend after a spell.

Said FEU Coach Adolfo Alicante after the match, the first loss of UST all season long, "Kahit nananlo kami, malaki pa rin yung nawala sa amin." The coach was referring to players Cordova, Romnick Jover, and Joshua Alminar who all received yellow cards (Cordova received a red card for kicking a UST defender; he earlier elbowed another Tiger for his yellow card) and will miss Game 2.

"I don't think affected yung mga bata," noted Allado. "Hindi lang naman nag-function si De Juan. Sa Game 2 ibang istorya na yan."

In other UAAP Football news, Marianne Narciso, scored her 11th and 12th goals of the tournament as she helped her side to a 2-0 win over luckless De La Salle. Game 2 or Sudden Death Sunday is on February 28 at 9am at the Erenchun Field in Ateneo.

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What I thought of the game as well -- FEU are the masters of the short game. Excellent passing. Props to Glester Sobremisana for his excellent playmaking. He moved back when Cordova went out. But the Tams had a hard time adjusting to a man down. We saw this earlier in the season; was it their second game? And their defense on the left isn't very good. This is where Clariño was making his living feasting on slow footed defenders.

UST is also fun to watch. Sometimes their attack goes to a 2-3-2-3 to give them more options on offense. It helps that they have two players who can break out on their own. John Reginald Caballero is sent forward to attack to help out Clariño and De Juan. Their weakness? I'd say it's their midfield.