Ateneo High School vs DLSZ: The comebacker

The comebacker

Two goals down. It was however, the opponents in trouble.

Ateneo High School 3 vs. De La Salle Zobel 2

by rick olivares with pics by brosi gonzales

There’s that old sports saying (by baseball’s Yogi Berra) that it is never until it is all over.

And for football, there’s Camp Nou in 1999 when Manchester United famously came back to win in stoppage time after being a goal down to Bayern Munich to win the Champions League.

There’s 2005 in Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul where Liverpool came back to win in penalties against AC Milan after being down 3-0 at the half.

Erenchun Field doesn’t have the history of the two aforementioned fields. But the comeback win by the Ateneo High School football team against rival De La Salle Zobel is the sort of game that is testament to Berra’s wisdom.

The two-time UAAP Juniors champions aren’t even touted to win this Season 73’s tournament. Their opponent in the last two finals – the FEU Baby Tamaraws – are very much intact and ripe for a title run. The Baby Tamaraws handed Ateneo a 1-0 loss last week and the final result doesn’t speak much of the challenger’s domination of the match.

Smarting from the loss, Ateneo went into its second round game against DLSZ looking to bounce back. They knew it wasn’t going to be easy as evidenced by the 1-0 Blue Booters’ win in the previous encounter. To compound matters, starting keeper Micah Alampay was not available for a second consecutive game.

It wasn’t only at the goal where Ateneo was shaky. A La Salle through ball in only the third minute of the match saw forward Emilio Acosta beat the defense for a one-on-one with Ateneo’s back-up keeper Jayme de Guzman for the first score.

Stunned but undaunted, Ateneo went back on the offensive and had numerous chances to score but its forwards couldn’t finish.

Then once more, 10 minutes into the second half, DLSZ’s Justus Fiedler fired a long high ball from the left flank that was some 30 yards from the goal. The ball soared then curved back in to find the back of the net that de Guzman wasn’t even able to react.

Incredibly, La Salle was up 2-0 despite being outplayed and conceding ball possession to Ateneo. But they made the most out of their scoring opportunities. The second goal gave renewed purpose to their attack and put Ateneo momentarily on the defensive.

With the game and a possible trip to the finals on the line (and FEU watching from the sidelines), Ateneo dug deep and found its championship resolve. Midfielder Carlos Alberto Monfort did his football version of the crossover by ditching La Salle defender (and former Ateneo player) Jose Luis Montelibano not once but twice before he unleashed a wicked volley from 25 years out to pull back one in the 63^rd minute.

And just like that, it was as if a switch had been flicked on. La Salle was back on their heels while Ateneo kept peppering Archers’ keeper Mark Enriquez with shots on goal.

In the 65^th minute, Ateneo midfielder Eric Figueroa hoped to catch La Salle’s defense on the back pedal. He launched a powerful shot that zipped right through the defense. Enriquez parried the powerful shot away but Ateneo striker Gino Clariño retrieved the rebound to blast it past the fallen La Salle goalie for Ateneo’s second goal.

With the game drifting close to the end, Clariño found himself stopped just outside the box. Unable to make any headway, the younger brother of UST striker Ojay Clariño passed the ball to Monfort who linked up to join the attack. And in one swift motion and nearly from the same spot from where he scored his first goal, Monfort fired away.

Enriquez never had a chance.

Ateneo had one more chance to add to its tally but forward Mico Mabanag flubbed a goal line shot.

But not matter, the Blue Booters, floundering and in danger of being unable to defend their title, had come back from the grave to win the match against a tough and resilient foe.

“It was a good win but this will be for nothing if we do not do as well against FEU,” said Ateneo coach JP Merida in the vernacular. “But we never gave up. Even down by one, two, I knew that we had a chance. We just had to finish. And what a finish.”