Pasargad ousts Army, 2-1, in a highly physical match.

Emmanuel MBata goes to the Pasargad bench to celebrate following his goal that gave his side an early 2-0 lead.

Pasargad ousts Army, 2-1, in a highly physical match.

report & pics by rick olivares

Pasargad dispatched Army from the PFF Smart National Club Championships with a 2-1 win at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium last Sunday, January 13, that was for the most part a mixed martial arts match with a football game just so happening to break out.

Pasargad thoroughly dominated the first 20-plus minutes following goals by midfielder Jaham Taher and Emmanuel MBata in the ninth and 21^st minutes respectively. After midfielder Promise Jolomi was shown the red card by referee Michael Bernabe after accumulating two successive yellow cards, the match turned. For the worse.

Army pressed their attack but was unable to break through Pasargad’s defense. The military team then ratcheted up the physical play that saw players take shots at one another with the match perilously close to degenerating into a full-scale rumble.

Pasargad defender Jay Torres took a nasty elbow from Army defender Laurence Bedua that he had to be replaced while Roel Gener head butted Hamed Hajimehdi.

With Bernabe and the officiating crew unable to take control of the situation, the game got worse as players on both sides began to make a mockery of the game by shamelessly diving, petulantly challenging the officials, and completely ignoring the sacred FIFA dictum of “fair play.”

After Ric Becite pulled back one for Army in the 66^th minute after a thunderous volley off a rebound from a free kick by teammate Jeoffrey Lobaton from about 25 yards out, the intensity further went up. However, Pasargad, despite playing for the majority of the game with 10 men, held fast to escape with the 2-1 win. 

Even after the final whistle, things remained contentious as Pasargad's Younousse Yaogo and Army's Nestor Margarse engaged in a spitting match. 

It was a difficult match for Pasargad that was missing the services of two stalwarts in Masood Shahdideh and Shayan Dastjerdi. They’re already missing the services of Kenneth Dolloso who opted out of his contract to play for Bacolod-club Ceres.

In all likelihood, the wholly Iranian expatriate club will play without their two stalwarts in their quarterfinals match against General Trias on January 20 at 630pm at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

In other matches, Ceres ousted recently crowned UFL Cup champions, Stallion, 1-0, in their own Round of 16 match at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod while Global came on strong in the second half to pull out a 2-1 over Nomads in the nightcap of the Sunday doubleheader at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Ceres, the last remaining provincial team in the PFF Smart National Club championships, and Global tangle on January 19 at 4pm also at the RMFS.