This appears in the Monday February 7, 2011 edition of the Business Mirror.
UST leapfrogs past DLSU in UAAP football
by rick olivares
pics by brosi gonzales
pics by brosi gonzales
Ojay Clariño bucked fatigue, hecklers, and a scolding by his coach to score deep into injury time to give UST a rousing 1-nil win over De La Salle.
With the game seemingly headed for another scoreless draw between the erstwhile second and third place teams, Clariño got the ball inside the box and was able to turn to his left and get a shot off. The shot sent DLSU keeper Patrick Deyto towards the first post but the ball instead skittered towards the opposite direction and right through La Salle defender Mathew Nierras’ legs for the score.
Clariño, celebrated his goal by clutching his jersey with the UST seal while looking at the La Salle crowd that heckled him for the entire second half. Clariño actually played for La Salle Greenhills in high school (he went to Marist for his elementary schooling).
The win gave UST three full points and they leapfrogged past La Salle 14-12 in points accrued from the UAAP Season 73 Men’s Football Tournament.
The Tigers dominated the match for three quarters until La Salle’s timely substitutions gave them fresh legs. With UST midfielder John Ronald Caballero out with cramps, the connection from central back David Basa to Caballero to playmaker Shinmar Felongco was disrupted. La Salle took advantage of the suddenly shaky UST midfield for a series of scoring chances.
“We really have to work on our finishing,” said UST coach Marjo Allado after the match. “We seem to have a problem playing the full 90 minutes so maybe our conditioning needs to be reviewed. I am just thankful that we were able to find our game. The Tigers have strung up three impressive victories after struggling early in the tournament. They beat Ateneo 4-0, FEU by 4-1, and now title contender La Salle.
The goal was Clariño’s third score of the competition.
In the second match, UE beat Ateneo 1-0 when Gringo Bravo pounced on a mistake by the Blue Booters’ defense. With the ball at the edge of the box, Ateneo keeper Joel Faustino ran out to claim the ball. But defenders Miguel Tuason and Gabriel Manalo also went at the ball and the resulting confusion resulted in a poor clearance that landed right in front of Bravo who was straddling the penalty area. With a keeperless goal, he simply slotted the ball home for the game’s only score.
It was UE’s first win in seven matches (1 win, 4 draws, 2 losses).
In the main match of the day, UP’s Stephen Permanes scored what could very well go down as one of the best goals of the tournament when he beat the offside trap and booted in a wicked shot from the left outside corner of the box that sailed towards the far end of the FEU goal beyond the outstretched arms of keeper Ronnie Aguisanda.
UP's 1-nil win kept them in firm possession of first place. They now have a total of 19 points from 7 matches (six wins and one draw).
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This wasn't just La Salle's week in football. It began Saturday when the Juniors team spotted Ateneo 2-0 at the 55 minute mark. The Blue Booters scored three goals almost in succession to beat DLSZ. In the men's match, UST snuck one in the second minute of injury time and several hours later, UST scored with five minutes left in the match to knock the defending women's champs out of the title race.
This wasn't just La Salle's week in football. It began Saturday when the Juniors team spotted Ateneo 2-0 at the 55 minute mark. The Blue Booters scored three goals almost in succession to beat DLSZ. In the men's match, UST snuck one in the second minute of injury time and several hours later, UST scored with five minutes left in the match to knock the defending women's champs out of the title race.
Sir Rick,
ReplyDeleteOjay Clarino went to Marist School for his elementary years. I think his celebration was only targeted to one of the DLSU crowd who heckled and bad mouthed him during the 2nd half that's why he did the "SILENCE" celebration which made it more sweeter for him to celebrate in front of him. I think he has a lot of respect for the La Salle community especially to Bro. Felipe, so I think he wouldn't diss them. Talk about a G.Neville (who just retired) kind of celebration... SWEET! More power to your articles Sir Rick! I have shots of his celebration and some action shots also :)
I caught that part, I think he was heckled not because he was from LSGH (some of the people in the crowd didn't even know he was from LSGH) but because of a dive in the penalty area + complaints that he did (of course I have no concrete idea of what the heckler was thinking haha like it or not heckling is a part of any spectator sport). And yeah I agree with Mark I don't think it was targeted at the entire DLSU crowd but just a heckler/bunch of hecklers. Kudos to him though for keeping his head together and even scoring the winning goal. UST is some team. The players' connection to each other in their passing plays is something to watch. I'm a DLSU fan but I just have to acknowledge good play when I see it. DLSU's a good team too and this should be an interesting race for the 2nd finals berth (though of course UST has their fate in their hands).
ReplyDeleteUST plays great for a half then they taper off. Unless they have their foe on the ropes. La Salle plays for the full 90 minutes. Mistakes are always a part of the game. As Hans Smit said, the defense should have never allowed Ojay Clariño to turn. But he did. As for the heckling. Yeah they didn't have any idea. Nor do I think they care. I was incidentally an arm's length away from the hecklers as I was chatting with Ernie Nierras. And I don't think they zeroed in on him. Any UST player was their target for the matter. Part of the game. But if the opponent scores then winning goal then they have the last laugh.
ReplyDeleteYou're right sir Rick, your observations on the DLSU and UST teams are spot on. Keep up the good work with the UAAP coverage (and sports in general)! This is my go-to website for UAAP Football coverage.
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