Pachanga sinks Sunken Garden, 13-0 (and other UFL Division Two games)

Pachanga sinks Sunken Garden, 13-0 

(and other UFL Division Two games)

by rick olivares pics by tunying

March 3, 2012

University of Makati

“Tara na,” yelled Pachanga head coach Norman Fegidero Jr.

From the opening whistle, the Red Phoenix attacked and immediately put Sunken Garden United on their heels. They were like a shark that could smell blood in the water.

The end result was a 13-nil thrashing, second only so far to Loyola Meralco’s destruction of Navy,14-0, last February 19. Bit it took Fegidero’s team nearly 30 minutes to notch that first goal.

Leaving only defenders Yves Ashime and Aldwin Riedler to defend, Pachanga committed more players to the attack and yet, their finishing left much to be desired. “It’s the gigil factor,” explained striker Freddy Gonzalez. “We know we can score and everyone wants to score. But after the half, we settle down and play better as a team.”

Fegidero’s angry call to action straightened out his team.

Two minutes later, in the 29^th minute, Gonzalez’ striker partner, Joven Bedic, volleyed from 25 yards out that punctured the defense and beat Sunken Garden keeper Renando Gaviola for the match’s first goal.

THE BEAUTY OF ONE-TOUCH PASSING: 1) Carlo Tacusalme brings up the ball on the counter and passes to midfielder Ousseynou Diop. 2) With two defenders crowding him, Diop passes back to right back Janrick Soriano who immediately spots central back Aldwin Riedler running up the flank. 3) Soriano sends a perfect pass to Riedler who has already surveyed his options. 4) Riedler passes to Right Winger Gino Palomo who draws a few defenders. 5) As soon as he draws the central back away from the middle, Palomo sends a lateral pass to striker Joven Bedic. Bedic simply turns and fires away for Pachanga's second goal of the match.

Three minutes later, on a sweet counter where left back Jalsor Soriano easily disposed United striker Abel de Castro’s feeble incursion, in five short delectable one-touch passes, all Bedic had to do from 20 yards out was to turn and fire away. Two-nil, Pachanga and the floodgates burst right open.

Without the suspended Romnick Jover, the scoring leader of the UFL’s Division Two (with 10 goals), Sunken Garden hardly made forays outside their defensive half. In a mismatch of cosmic proportions, the Red Phoenix rained 50 shots on goals (with 22 on target) on Gaviola. United could only muster one meek shot that Pachanga goalkeeper Ken Dolloso easily plucked away.

Eight Red Phoenix players scored with Gonzalez scoring his second hat trick of the season while Bedic, Boyet Cañedo, and third striker Anu Farah scored a brace. Ousseynou Diop, Chris Ojamire, Kross Ubiam, and Soriano scored a goal each.

In seven games, 12 different Pachanga players have scored underscoring their offensive options.

After surveying United’s 4-4-2 formation and finding it lacking, Pachanga overloaded the middle third with six midfielders that totally threw off any attack by United head coach Ryan Serenilla. “We could not mount a proper attack,” said Serenilla after the match. “They are a very good football team. They should be in Division One.”

In a long 22-game Division Two season, Pachanga has only played seven matches with a game at hand against current leader Diliman that could only muster a 2-0 win over struggling Forza that has lost its last four matches.

Diliman is at first with a 7-1-0 record and a plus-27 goal differential. The Red Phoenix are a close second with a 7-0-0 record (they are the last undefeated team in Division Two play) with a plus-36 goal differential.

The 13-0 thrashing is the most lopsided in Division Two play this season (the previous high was a 10-0 win by Diliman over Manila All-Japan in the opening day) and the second most after Loyola’s 14-nil carpet bombing of hapless Navy that has yet to win a match (the sailors have a -33 goal difference) and have only a point to show.

In the first match of Saturday’s Division Two play, Agila, for the moment, took solo third place after making Lions pay with a 3-nil for its sloppy defending.

Midfielder Peter Mortillero who was a part of Ateneo’s three-peat UAAP Men’s Football champions (2004-06) bended a beautiful corner shot from the right side that evaded the Lions keeper and dipped right below the far post for Agila’s first goal in the 18^th minute.

Lions, unable to get any semblance of their ground game going, opted to play the long ball where striker Michael Tan oft beat the two defenders assigned to him. But finishing against Agila keeper Greg Madrona was altogether another question.

Power gets ready to unload on Lions.

Agila took the cover off the pressure cooker when Alvin Valeroso found himself inside the box with his shot pressuring Lions central back Apolinar Arenal into two horrible mistakes. The first was when Valeroso, the former UE Red Warrior football king, had his shot redirected by Arenal for an own goal in the 60^th minute for a 2-0 lead.

Arenal complete his own personal day of horrors when he tripped Valeroso inside the box for a penalty that Mortillero converted for a brace and a 3-0 win.

In the second match, Diliman subdued a tough and resilient Forza squad with a hard-fought 2-0 win.

Forza, celebrating its tenth year as a club, held Diliman scoreless in the first half and had more shots on goal. But in the second half, the Diliman booters continued to deny Forza striker Antonio Celdran of the ball while also forcing Cameroonian Ruben Bioumla, who had so much success in the first half in bring the ball up for an attack, to pass. Right-winger Hussain Al Mohjili would take the ball on the overlap but his inability to control the ball or make the proper decision on the attack clearly hurt his side.

The strategy worked and almost immediately after the halftime break, Diliman got on the board when striker Andoni Santos attempted a cross (hoping he’d have a teammate coming in for support) while going out of bounds at the goal line. Only Santos’ shot curved in for a goal. The shot likewise lifted the pressure from the Bob Salvacion-coach club. Salvacion hoped that his side would score six goals against Forza that began the season with a loss and three wins before nose diving with three consecutive loses (not including the debacle to Diliman).

In the 79^th minute, Ghanaian Bismark Frimpong powerful volley sent Forza keeper Henderson Campo flailing after the ball to no avail for the match’s final tally of 2-0.