UFL: Global rout Army to emphasize greater class

Global dominated a tired Army squad as they routed the team to the tune of 6-0, Tuesday at the Emperador Stadium. Ben Starosta opened the scoring with a placed shot in the 27th minute before Misagh Bahadoran scored the pick of the goals with a fantastic, scissor kick before halftime. After the break Jeffrey Christiaens got in on the act with a brace before substitutes Matthew Uy and Marvin Angeles put the icing on the cake, to continue to give Scottish coach Brian Reid selection headaches. First half After a cagey start by both teams it was the Army who got the first chance when Roland Sadia threw the ball from just outside the area. As he was distributing the ball his arm just went out of the area but the Army shot inches wide of the goal from the free-kick. Global tried to counterattack soon after and coming off the back of a narrow 2-1 loss to Stallion last time out, Army quickly got back into position. With too many men to pass through, Ben Starosta curled in a cross from thirty five yards out and Patrick Reichelt got on the end of it, but jumping in the air it was always going to be difficult to volley and he hit over in the 16th minute. Izzo El Habbib then got through on goal five minutes later from a ball over the top, but the recovering Army defender managed to slide in and tackle, giving time for Ed Sacapano to clean up before the UFL’s top scorer could get a shot off. Global were struggling to get the fluid passing and movement they were showing in their 5-1 thrashing of the Green Archers going, but in the 27th minute they managed to open the scoring. Jerry Barbaso crossed from the right, El Habbib left the ball for Ben Starosta who took a touch to control, another to take it past his man, then passed the ball into the net. The lead put Global in control of the game and in the 34th minute they started to show what they are capable of as Carli De Murga was found well in the middle, and in space, played in another good pass to Izzo El Habbib. On the edge of the area he tried to turn his man both ways before mishitting his shot too close to the goalkeeper. Misagh Bahadoran then got past his man on the left and also hit at Sacapano as Global began to gain a chokehold on the game. They doubled their lead in the 36th minute with a great strike from Bahadoran, as Jerry Barbaso again supplied the cross from the right and the Fil-Iranian famed for his futsal skills adjusted his feet, leaped sideways in the air for a scissor kick, connecting well with the ball and sending it to the bottom corner of the goal. The UFL has seen some great strikes in the last few weeks and Bahadoran’s effort will certainly be up there among the best so far and it gave Global a 2-0 lead at halftime. Second half The second half started with Izzo El Habbib trying to outdo Bahadoran’s strike, chesting a cross and attempting a bicycle kick, but it just went wide. However, it was Jeffrey Christiaens who put Global 3-0 in front, as he neatly took a pass and fired beyond Sacapano in the 50th minute. Meliton Pelayo made way for Erwin Silvestre as the Army made a change before Patrick Yao replaced Patrick Reichelt for Global. Izzo El Habbib almost got on the scoresheet again as he received a quickly taken free-kick, but shot just wide of the goal. Tiring and running out of ideas, Global dominated the Army for possession and slowed the game down. Army made another change as Romano Vestal came on for Luisitio Brillantes, before Misagh Bahadoran found space in the box from another Barbaso pass, but he hit his shot too close to the Azkals goalkeeper. Izzo El Habbib then had another couple of chances to get his seventh goal of the league in his fourth game as he headed a corner wide, but he couldn’t quite get on the end of a low cross from the right. Then Starosta rose above his man near the half way line to head down for Jeffrey Chrsitiaens, with Izzo El Habbib nodding the ball on, and Christiaens opened his body and curled beyond Sacapano in the 75th minute to make it 4-0 to Global. Army, clearly disheartened and tired, never offered a threat up front and Global took advantage of their aging squad. With probably another couple of gears to spare, Global really are a threat in the league and if they can hit those top gears they look more than capable of retaining their crown. Estorque Perciniplis came on for Rodrigo Bertita in the 78th minute before Carli De Murga and Ben Starosta made way for Matthew Uy and Marvin Angeles, as Global replaced an Azkal and Poland U-20 international with two Azkals. From 4-0 down, the Army made another couple of changes to give some playing time to Victorino Troyo in for Ed Sacapano, while Denis Wolf came in for Global captain Yu Hoshide and Izzo El Habbib finished his first game this season without his name being on the scoresheet as he was replaced by Nino Ochoterena. After the changes, Global stepped up a notch as the substitutes tried to make an impression. Matthew Uy made the first, as he took a touch from a Denis Wolf pass to give him the room to shoot, firing into the top of the net in the 87th minute before Marvin Angeles shot at goal, assisted by Christiaens, though Troyo will be disappointed as he appeared to fumble the ball into the goal. The two goals wrapped up the biggest win of the UFL season so far as Global routed the Army 6-0, yet they still looked as if they could step up another gear or two and that will certainly send a warning shot to the other UFL contenders. Where it leaves the teams The Army still has no points after a very difficult start to the season. Pitted against the current three top teams in the league in their opening games, they’ve lost 4-1 to Loyola, 2-1 to the Stallions and 6-0 to Global now. Joining the Green Archers and PSG at the bottom of the table with three losses out of three, to prove preseason predictions wrong and avoid relegation they’ll need to improve a lot. However they’ll be up against Kaya next, on March 9, as they’ve been handed the hardest start possible to the UFL season. Global, meanwhile, will be pleased with the strong result, especially as they weren’t at their best. Their winning streak continues as they retain their 100 percent record this season. Up against Pachanga Dililman next, on March 5, they’ll be hoping that streak continues in pursuit of back-to-back UFL titles. - AMD, GMA News