By Leiniel A. Santos

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraw Booters Angel Egay and team captain Dionesa Tolentin went full force in their last match of the eliminations against the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles, 7-1, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s football tournament earlier today, December 7, at the University of the Philippines Diliman Football Pitch in Quezon City.

In a post-game interview, Egay mentioned that even though they know that they are already in the finals prior to this game, they still wanted to show good performance to correct their mistakes.

“Kahit last [game] sa elimination round, alam na namin na finals na kami. Sabi namin sa team na magwo-work kami as a team na andu’n pa rin ‘yung unity and dapat [prepared] kami na ang performance na ipapakita namin is para talaga i-correct ‘yung mistakes namin (Even though it was the last game of the elimination round and we already knew we were headed to the finals, we told the team to work together and maintain our unity. We also made sure we were prepared to deliver a performance that would really help us correct our mistakes),” she shared.

The green-and-gold booters started the match with an early dominance as they seized the momentum of their offense.

Egay notched their first goal during the seventh minute of the match. 

A minute after that, Althea Rebosura instantly added another goal as she struck from a distance in the eighth minute of the game.

With the momentum of the Morayta-based squad, they continued to light up the scoreboard with Nikk Duran’s goal in the 33rd and Carmela Altiche’s in the 37th.

FEU team captain Tolentin then joined the Lady Tams’ goal party in the first half as she scored two straight points during the 44th and the first half’s second extra minute.

During the second half, Ateneo’s Rae Tolentino led her team to raise their intensity as they notched their first goal in the 54th minute of the game.

Lady Tams’ goalkeeper Paula Artillo then got more touches as the Blue Eagles seized the upper hand and managed to have multiple ball possessions. 

Fortunately, Egay took her second goal in the 88th minute, bringing their lead back to six and seal the victory.

In another interview, head coach Let Dimzon shared that even though their attacking is strong, they still have a problem with their final touches.

“Malakas yung attacking namin, so kaya namin i-hold ‘yung opponent inside their pitch. Ang problem lang talaga namin is ‘yung final touches… Ayun lang talaga ‘yung kailangan namin tutukan (Our attacks are strong, so we’re able to hold our opponents inside their own half. The only real problem we have is with our final touches... That’s really the area we need to focus on),” she said. 

The Dimzon-led squad is now set to face the De La Salle University Lady Booters in the battle for gold next Saturday, December 14, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila City. 

(Photo by Aleena Louise Abad/FEU Advocate)