Archers surrender two late goals, draw third match

Green Archers United cannot seem to get over the hump as the club leaked two goals in the final five minutes of regulation for a 2-2 scoreline against Philippine Army-General Trias International on January 23 at the Emperador Stadium in Taguig. This is the Archers' third draw in as many matches they have played at the 2014 United Football League.

Leading two goals to nil after Jovanie Simpron scored in the third minute and Robert Lopez Mendy in the 65th minute, Green Archers let Army bounce back into the match as John Cain notched a goal in the 86th minute, followed by a rebound off a scramble by Kang Dae Han from a corner kick in the 89th minute.

"It’s a sad day for us. We should have won this handily. I think we let our guard down slightly in the last ten minutes," manager Monchu Garcia said.

GAU executed crisp short passes that led to several chances in the first half, foremost being Simpron’s strike, which came from a through ball that the Far Eastern alum took advantage of with a one-on-one situation against Army keeper Ed Sacapano. The lead could have been padded further as shots on goal by Chieffy Caligdong, Park Jun Soo, and Arnie Pasinabo were either off target or went straight to Sacapano. Army-GTI relied on counterattacks in the first 45 minutes of the fixture, but was unable to make a dent in the scoreboard.

In the second half, the pace became more deliberate with several stoppages because of physical play. The Archers were the more dominant side in the first 20 minutes as they pressed from way back and tested Sacapano with one attempt after another.

From a nifty short corner kick by substitute Tating Pasilan at the right wing, Chieffy Caligdong deftly dribbled beside the baseline, attracting the attention of the defenders. His short groundball cross went to an unmarked Lopez Mendy at the middle of the six-yard box, who then tapped it in for a two-goal advantage.

With the Archers tasting their largest cushion so far in the season, they fell back a bit to concentrate on defense. However, this gave the striped shirts the impetus to attack. Cain’s left boot from the right flank trimmed the gap to within one.

A few ticks later, a corner kick sent into Green Archers’ box was headed by Jeon Shin Seok towards goal but was deflected out. In the ensuing scramble, Kang flicked the ball with his left foot.

Deyto, who was behind the goal line, protected the ball with his body. When he proceeded to continue play, Army players stopped and pointed towards his direction. During the slight confusion, referee Ariel Montana whistled for a goal as Green Archers players surrounded the linesman to protest the call and state their case.

"It’s not a goal, I swear, man. The linesman just called that. He was miles away and people were blocking his view, so how can he possibly call that," Deyto said after the match.

GAU is still at the bottom half of the table with three points. Army-GTI is just a single point above, so far amassing a win, a defeat, and a draw to start the season.

Green Archers United draws yet again

After fighting tooth and nail against the defending United Football League champions on opening day, Green Archers United found themselves in the worst of starts and almost gave Pasargad and debuting coach Nii Aryee Ayi their first win of the season. Good thing the Archers held on as a Dodong Villareal goal in the 70th minute to notch a 1-1 draw on January 16 at the Emperador Stadium, McKinley Hill, Taguig.

Coach Rodolfo Alicante was displeased with his squad's start as Simon Pierre Bayemeg scored in the 21st minute to hand his team the lead. With Pasargad playing at a deliberate pace, GAU picked up the tempo in the second half and started pressuring from way back.

Green Archers' resilience paid off as Villareal slotted one in front of the mouth of the goal, the assist courtesy of Chieffy Caligdong off a corner kick. They had several more chances to break the tie, but the ball does not just want to go beyond the goal line. Russel Anthony Pierson was a stonewall of a keeper, frustrating GAU's forays from inside the box as well as Jessie Martindale's booming attempts from beyond.

"Yung first half namin yung pinaka-worst na start. Yung mga players namin medyo off, maraming bad pass kaya naka-goal ang Pasargad," Alicante assessed. "But in the second half, nag-adjust ako. Nag-start ako sa loob muna, pinaikot ko muna yung mga players."

Alicante made changes in front to give his attacking line more teeth with Jovanie Simpron coming in for Tating Pasilan barely five minutes into the second half and Villareal and earlier substitute Park Jun Soo switching positions. This proved to be fruitful as the passes became more accurate, and coupled with fleet footspeed, was able to net a goal but not enough to take the full three points.

UFL shorts, 10/09/13

Green Archers United won against Nomads, 1-0, on October 8 at the Emperador Stadium in McKinley Hill, Taguig to secure third place in the United Football League Preseason tournament. In the 30th minute, Reynald Villareal's strike rolled towards the far post, far away for Nomads keeper Russel Pierson to reach, for the only goal that evening.

The finals between Global and Loyola Meralco Sparks will be played tomorrow evening, also at the Emperador Stadium.

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UFL rumor #1: A certain UFL division one club withdrew from the Cup citing that they do not have enough players in their lineup. Depends on who you asked, either they were not able to submit their roster on time or they did not bother to do so. It remains to be seen if they can muster enough manpower by the time the League kicks off next year. If they can't, will the League elevate a division two club or will we see a decrease of teams in the top flight? It has been reported that Nomads will ply their trade on division two where the "five-import limit" is not yet imposed.

UFL rumor #2: It is speculated that several non-UFL clubs which were committed to participate in this year's Cup backed out because the group draws did not go their way.

UFL rumor #3: It has been found out that a certain non-UFL club will field a roster composed of foreigners after officials received their documents. It has not been announced what they plan to do with this club, whether to sanction them or not with only three days to go before the Cup starts. Nomads declined to compete out of courtesy since they cannot commit to the "five-import limit", how come this club can?

Assessing the 2013 UFL Cup groups

It remains to be seen whether Rufo Sanchez will be teaming up with Ruben "Balut" Doctora in the 2013 UFL Cup. Photo: Kristela Anna Cruz

Finally, the local football season is about to start, and the wait has been excruciating. Sure, the UFL Preseason Cup is currently going on to fill that gap, but it is not the same as the real thing.

On October 12, the UFL Cup will kick off with 27 teams in six groups competing this year. Reigning Cup and League champion Stallion FC, which went through a facelift during the offseason, is one of the most anticipated teams along with Global and Kaya. Some of the non-league teams worth watching include national club champion Ceres FC from Negros and the debuting Manila Jeepney.

This year's Cup will have Groups A, C, and E with five teams, while Groups B, D, and F will have four squads each. The top three teams from the former three groups will advance to the knockout rounds along with the top two clubs and the best third place team in the latter three groups.

Here are the groups broken down with some analysis on how I feel they will pan out in the Cup.

Group A

At first glance, this is Green Archers United's group to dominate. What remains to be seen is whether affiliate club Forza FC can make it to the next round or they will be frustrated yet again. Also worth noting is that this is the third straight Cup where the two clubs are group together (four if you count the Preseason Cup).

Joining these two clubs are Division Two squad Cimarron, the enigmatic Cebu Queen City FC, and the intriguing Manila Jeepney, who will be coached by Kale Alvarez. The verdict is still out on Manila Jeepney, but I will not be surprised if they are able to reach the round-of-16.

Group B

The club that stands out in this group is Loyola Meralco Sparks, and I do not think they will encounter any difficulty of reaching the next round. It is now up to the three remaining clubs on who will join the Sparks.

After a number of their players transferred to Socceroo, it remains to be seen if General Trias International is the same club that made heads turn last season. Meanwhile, the recently relegated Philippine Air Force is currently on a state of flux, while Division Two club Agila FC aims to foil plans of the other clubs of their plans.

Group C

No other group screams "group of death" than this one. You have the aforementioned Global and Ceres, a middle of the pack Division One club in PSG FC, a former Division Club side that wants to redeem itself in Navy FC, and a new club that wants to get itself recognized in Manila Tala.

By virtue of their past performances, it is safe to say that Global and the Negros Occidental-based club will go far in the tournament. I am tempted to say PSG will take the third slot in their group, but I do not want to discount the two non-Division One clubs.

Group D

After Loyola, Stallion had it lucky in the draw. The champions are expected to breeze past Philippine Army, Dolphins United, and what seems to be another Ateneo-based club in Blue Guards.

Although Army stays in Division One after wining against Union International in the playoff, Dolphins is expected to put up some challenge for the second playoff spot. Blue Guards, for now, is a big, big question mark.

Group E

It is not the group of death, but competition here is expected to be tight. First, there is newly promoted club Socceroo, and then there is the previous season's promoted club Pachanga Diliman. These two clubs who will most likely advance to the knockout rounds. Laos FC, Mendiola, and unknown entity Bright Star will slug it out for the last knockout seed with my money on the Global affiliate club.

Group F

Kaya will most likely go on to the knockout stages with relative ease, especially now that they have stocked up on talent during the break. Out to join them are two Division Two clubs Union and Manila All Japan and Cup returnee Manila Hurricanes, which was known as Manhur from two seasons back.

Among the three, Union appears to be strongest club as they nearly got promoted to the first division only to fall to Army in the playoffs. Nevertheless, I will be delighted if Manila Hurricanes pull off a surprise.

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There you have it. A brief preview of what to expect in the coming UFL Cup. Do you agree with my assessment? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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