By Aine Peralta
Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraw Booters overcame an early deficit with a fiery second-half surge to defeat University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 4-1, in a heated University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 women’s football tournament earlier today, October 21, at the UP Diliman Football Pitch in Quezon City.
The green-and-gold squad caught themselves trailing early after UP’s Erissa Rivas breached the defense in the 26th minute.
Struggling with a sluggish and complacent opening half, FEU went into the break down, 0-1.
Coming out of halftime, the Let Dimzon-led squad quickly asserted dominance in the attacking third as Jelan Pabuaya ran onto a long ball into the box in the 48th minute, slotting it past the Katipunan goalkeeper Ainnah De Guzman to equalize at 1-1.
The green-and-gold squad took the lead 10 minutes later after Regine Rebosura capitalized on an overlap to find a wide-open Judie Arevalo, calmly finishing past three defenders to push the team ahead, 2-1.
Tensions surged in the 65th minute when Tamaraw midfielder Tiffany Trinidad was forced off the pitch after taking a misjudged high ball bounce straight to the eye, prompting the entry of substitute Kyza Colina.
Capitalizing on Arevalo’s late corner kick, FEU’s Nikk Duran corralled a loose rebound off UP keeper De Guzman to set up Pabuaya’s 80th-minute strike for a 3-1 cushion.
Tamaraw standout Knayeza Abellar then provided the finishing touch in the 86th minute to seal the team’s dominant performance, 4-1.
Reflecting on the match, green-and-gold head coach Dimzon noted that tactical adjustments in attacking spaces and finishing were key to the team’s second-half conversion.
“Actually, before we started with the second round, nag-focus kami dun sa harapan ng goals. It’s more on finishing and understanding sa spaces sa front and back. Pinolish lang talaga namin ‘yung finishing, that’s why sa analysis at statistics mostly puro on-target kami (Actually, before we started the second round, we focused on the area in front of the goal. It was mainly about finishing and understanding the spaces in the attacking and defensive thirds. We really polished our finishing — which is why, according to our analysis and statistics, most of our attempts were on-target),” she shared.
Despite their slow-footed start, the head tactician lauded her squad’s mental fortitude and response to a halftime wake-up call.
“Medyo scruffy ‘yung start ng first half namin and then medyo complacent ‘yung mga bata… So I think ‘yung adjustment during halftime, ‘yun talaga ‘yung pinakabetter. Although, yes, pinagalitan ko ‘yung mga bata kasi masyadong relaxed, but again, good thing is ‘yung character how we’re going to bounce back after the behind score. Mas better ‘yung naging sagot nila dun sa talk (Our start in the first half was a bit scruffy, and the players were somewhat complacent. So, I think the adjustments made during halftime were the real turning point. While it’s true that I scolded the players for being too relaxed, the positive takeaway is the character they showed in bouncing back after falling behind. They responded much better following that talk),” Dimzon said.
Maintaining a flawless 8-0 slate atop the standings with 24 points, the Morayta-based lady booters will look to boost their winning streak in their bout against Ateneo de Manila University on Saturday, October 24, at the same venue.
(Photo by Rian Balagtas/FEU Advocate)