By Aine Peralta
Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraw Booters secured its second consecutive victory in the second Tuloy Invitational Cup after defeating the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 7-1, yesterday, July 12, at the Circuit Makati Football Pitch in Makati City.
The blowout follows a tight 1-0 opening win over De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde last July 5, giving FEU a perfect 2-0 preseason start and setting the stage for their dominant performance from the opening whistle.
Braving the heavy downpour, Tamaraw standout Selwyn Mamon scored a diving header off an assist from Karl Absalon three minutes into the match, 1-0.
However, an FEU foul allowed UE a dangerous free kick opportunity in the 10th minute, which the Red Warriors converted to equalize the score at 1-1.
This defensive stop triggered a rapid offensive sequence for the Morayta-based squad as Tamaraw forward Absalon executed a successful scissor kick in the 15th minute to regain the lead, before midfielder Edgar Aban Jr. struck just a minute later to widen the gap, 3-1.
Building on their dominant first half, FEU maintained their relentless offensive pressure immediately upon returning to the pitch.
In the 48th minute, green-and-gold midfielder Theo Libarnes extended the lead with a long-range goal, which was soon followed by Absalon converting a penalty kick in the 59th minute for his second goal of the match, 5-1.
The goal-fest continued late into the second half as midfielder Mc Jay Neniel found the back of the net in the 68th minute.
As the match wound down, Morayta-based booter Kenneth Flores capped off the match, scoring a stoppage-time goal at the 90+1-minute mark to make it 7-1.
In an interview with FEU Advocate, Libarnes revealed that the team had anticipated and prepared for the heavy downpour during their training sessions.
“Before pa lang, nung preparation namin last week, alam naman namin ‘yung weather this week masama. So while nagte-training kami, mas minabuti namin na bola ‘yung pinapagalaw namin, hindi ‘yung nagdi-dribble kami individually, kasi mas better if bola ‘yung pinapagalaw namin and mas mabilis ‘yung laro. Ayun, nakuha naman namin and ‘yung result maganda rin (Even before, during our preparation last week, we already knew the weather this week would be bad. So while we were training, we made sure to keep the ball moving instead of dribbling individually, because it's better if we let the ball do the work to make the game faster. We executed it well and the result was also good),” he shared.
Despite walking away with a six-goal margin of victory, the green-and-gold standout noted that the squad still needs to refine their tactics moving forward.
“Based naman sa score, malaki at marami ‘yung goals namin. Pero ‘yung finishing pa rin namin, kasi last game, ‘yun din ‘yung kulang namin. Hindi kami gigil mag-score, or takot kami mag-shoot sa goal. ‘Yun pa ‘yung kailangan namin i-improve para more chances pa (Based on the score, our goals were plenty. But we still lack in our finishing, because last game, that was also what we lacked. We’re not overly eager to score, or we’re scared to shoot at the goal. That's what we still need to improve to create even more chances),” Libarnes mentioned.
With the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season around the corner, the Diliman-turned-Morayta booter stated that the pre-season fixture allowed the squad to establish the team’s consistency.
“So far, lahat ay nag-step up [and] wala pa naman kaming final UAAP lineup. Pero titignan pa namin sa upcoming games namin if magiging consistent pa ‘yung team (So far, everyone has stepped up, and we don't have a final UAAP lineup yet. But we will see in our upcoming games if the team can remain consistent),” he concluded.
Now with a 2-0 win-loss record in Group A, the Tamaraws await their next match schedule and opponent.
(Photo by Ma. Louela Luna/FEU Advocate)