UFL: Archers fire themselves into sixth with win over Nomads

In their last game of the League season, Green Archers United pounded the Nomads by a score of 4-1, Tuesday at the Emperador Stadium, claiming sixth place in the process while sending their foes down to eighth.

The Archers flew out of the blocks as a well-worked corner found Reynald Villareal free outside the area, and after taking a touch forward and beating his man, he fired at goal in only the fifth minute.

GAU then doubled their lead in the 32nd minute as Ayi Nii Aryee rifled in a cracking shot from just outside the area.

In the second half, the Nomads put up more of a fight and got back into the game when Steve Borrill’s low free-kick was deflected beyond Patrick Deyto in the Archers’ goal in the 69th minute. But after a few nervy moments as the Nomads looked to build on their momentum, Sean Lee and Shag Shapay Johnson wrapped up the victory, with Lee clipping the ball over the onrushing Friso Klok, before Johnson slotted beyond the Nomads keeper from basically the same position in the 89th minute to wrap up the 4-1 win.

First half

The Archers took an early lead as a corner was whipped out quite far from goal to Reynald Villareal. He took a touch past his defender and hit a snapshot, wrongfooting returning goalkeeper Friso Klok in goal, to open the scoring in only the fifth minute.

GAU could have had their second when Sean Lee slipped in Jovanie Simpron with a nice through ball. Klok got a hand to it though, as Simpron tried to round him and was then forced to lay the ball back for a teammate to chip at goal. Klok got another hand to the ball to deflect the shot away from goal, but it fell to Agbayomi Olowoyeye who volleyed well over.

Tating Pasilan picked up the first yellow card of the game in the 22nd minute with a late challenge and his foot raised, before rain started to lash down on the pitch making the conditions uncomfortable to play in.

Still that didn’t seem to matter for the Archers, as they doubled their lead in the 32nd minute when Ayi Nii Aryee picked up the ball from just outside the area and smashed it into the top corner with his right foot on the first touch giving Klok no chance.

It could even have been three for the Archers in a dominant half as Olowoyeye headed over from only a few yards out in injury time.


Second half

With the Nomads chasing the game, they made a double substitution early in the second half as Ruffy Llorente and Phil Connolly made way for Andrew Sam and Jose Lozano. As the Nomads fired over from distance again. Tating Pasilan then shot over from an Ayi knockdown in the 60th minute, as the Archers were looking to wrap up the three points with their third goal.

The Archers then made a double substitution themselves as they brought Shag Shapay Johnson and Diego Garcia on for Arnie Pasinabo and Jovanie Simpron. Johnson almost had an immediate impact as the Archers got free on the right on the counter, receiving the low pass and seemingly playing a one-touch pass for Pasilan, but no one else was on the same wavelength and Klok was first to the ball to dive on it.

Replays showed though that it was probably just a poor first touch and more composure would have given the substitute an immediate, clear-cut chance on goal.

Reymark Fernandez then aimed a curling shot at goal with the outside of his boot, but Klok was behind it all the way in the 64th minute.

The Nomads then created a decent opportunity in the 68th minute as Jayson Arroyo battled for the ball and managed to squirm past two defenders before rounding Ayi and firing a shot at goal, but it was too close to Patrick Deyto in goal for the Archers.

However, the Nomads earned a free-kick in the process just outside the area. And on the stroke of the 69th minute, Steve Borrill drilled in the free-kick low and hard as it took a wicked deflection on its way to the back of the net, to put the Nomads back into the game only one goal behind.

The score however was followed by the Nomads’ Danny Williams getting booked for pulling back the Archers’ captain Tating Pasilan. They almost equalized in the 73rd minute as a cross from the left rebounded off an Archers defender and it took a quick reflex save from Deyto to keep out the ball, before the defenders mopped up the danger and cleared it away.

Right at the other end a minute later, the Archers were through on goal until Klok again was out first to stretch his large frame and tip the ball away for another good stop. However he couldn’t do anything about the Archers’ next attempt, with Sean Lee sent through on the right. Diving at his feet, the Archers’ midfielder chipped the ball over Klok to restore their two-goal advantage in the 80th minute.

But the Nomads couldn’t find a second goal to get back into the game as Nico Mabanag shot over from a cross in the 82nd minute. Andrew Sam then found himself unmarked in the box and free to head at goal, but Deyto pulled off a great save. The Archers followed that up by counter-attacking, and put Shag Shapay Johnson in on goal. Racing through, he neatly finished with his left foot to deceive Klok and wrap up a 4-1 win.

What’s next for the teams

Both teams’ seasons have now finished as the Archers and the Nomads became the first two clubs in the league to complete their 18 games.

The three points have guaranteed the Archers sixth place in the league, an impressive finish given that they were in the relegation battle for the first half of the season, and a decent improvement on last season’s eighth place.

Nomads, meanwhile, have dropped a place from last season from seventh to eighth, falling from 19 points to 13 points this campaign. A great start to the year was followed up by a winless second round of fixtures in a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde season.

In all likelihood they are now safe, with Army needing two wins and a draw from their remaining three games to avoid the relegation playoff, but the Nomads will need to improve to avoid a more intense relegation battle next year, with the possibility of both Armed Forces teams going down. - CLP, GMA News