By Vince Matthew R. Jaramilla

With a man out for majority of the match, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraw Booters took care of business against the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons, 3-0, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s football tourney earlier tonight, September 28, at the Vermosa Sports Hub in Cavite.

It was at the 29th minute where the Morayta-based booters took a hit in their manpower, as Rustel Justine Buenafe was granted a red card after his knee collided with an Adamson player’s head.

FEU faced a ball-hungry brand of the Falcons in the early minutes of the match, but the Tamaraw Booters still found more opportunities to score.

The green-and-gold squad’s first point was eventually scored through a different manner with Edgar Aban Jr. delivering a free kick in the 18th minute.

Despite being a player down, FEU still found a way to score yet again through their coordinated passing, with Aban finding Czam Acuesta on the left side of the goal in the 33rd minute.

Both teams had a few more chances to score before halftime, but the scoreboard ultimately read the same.

As expected, the physicality turned up a notch in the second half as the two squads pushed for ball control to score.

The Tamaraw Booters’ problem with numbers started to manifest in the later minutes, as they began to struggle in keeping the Soaring Falcons away from their penalty box.

With the second half seeming to be a scoreless one in its final minutes, green-and-gold booter Jerby Anito found the back of the net from the middle of the goal box in the fifth minute of stoppage time to end the game at 3-0.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, assistant coach Alberto Besa highlighted the added grit the Morayta squad shows whenever they are faced with having only ten players on the field.

“There’s something about playing at a disadvantage which makes these boys step up. It’s, I don’t know, an additional challenge but when I see them come down with 10 men, we always get to score and we always actually win. They give an extra kick… an extra push with being [only ten players],” he said.

Coach Besa also mentioned the positive effect that the loss in their first game against University of the Philippines (UP) last September 24 gave to the players.

“Our first game, the loss, [1-3], it was a good wakeup call. It was good that it came early when the team [is] defending the title… I’m pretty pleased [with] how they performed today. We were able to focus mentally on the game. We weren’t overestimating whoever our opponent is… It was good. They played well,” he stated.

FEU will aim to continue their winning ways against the University of Santo Tomas next Sunday, October 5, at the UP Diliman Football Pitch in Quezon City.

(Photo by Ma. Louela Luna/FEU Advocate)