UFL: Team Socceroo notches first win, Army-GTI shocks Pachanga

Team Socceroo notched their first Division I win in a 1-0 affair against Pasargad, while Army-General Trias International surprised Pachanga PLDT Home Fibr 2-0, in separate UFL games, Thursday at the Emperador Stadium.

Both Pachanga and Socceroo came into the game winless, as the two clubs still seemed to rely heavily on foreign talent as compared to other squads. Team Socceroo though has signed more locals after being promoted to the First Division.

There were several good chances for Socceroo very early in the game, but the ball seemed to just go straight to Pasargad keeper Russel Pierson. After a couple more attempts, Socceroo seemed to settle for more long ball plays.

On the other hand, Pasargad’s Hamed Fateh seemed to be left by himself up front, mostly, and had to contend with at least two Socceroos each time. Fateh sometimes resorted to trying to fell Socceroo defender Hideo Muraoka, who is a good four or five inches taller than he is.

Pasargad head coach Ayi Aryee was rocking a tight, neon pink button down shirt, contrasting prettily with his players who were in green and white. The former UFL player seemed to have some competition coming from the bleachers, as some of Pasargad’s more vocal fans also sounded like they were coaching from the stands.

Team Socceroo's keeper Rolando Cabaniero made some pretty good saves in the first half, including one that saw him spectacularly leaping into the air and then tapping up and out a ball that was definitely bound for right under the crossbar. But the half ultimately ended in a scoreless draw.

Pasargad got a little testy later in the game, perhaps frustrated at what was not happening on the pitch. The score still read 0-0, even if their play had somewhat picked up in the second half. The frustration was too much for Pasargad’s Steve Minyem and he was shown a yellow twice in the span of five or six minutes, cutting down his team to just 10 men with still 30 minutes to play.

There was chance after chance for Socceroo, but nothing seemed to find the back of the net. One attempt seemed sure to be a goal but the ball bounced on the crossbar before just skimming across the face of the goal and wide. Yet another chance for the seemingly unlucky Socceroos saw the ball approaching an open net just to bounce off the left post and out of the goal.

Even down to ten men, Pasargad saw chances too, but most of the attempts went skyward, or in the case of Emperador Stadium, to the next door building.

Towards the end of the game, there were even more chances for the aqua-clad side but none of them hit the mark. A free kick in added time was still too strong and went to the bleachers.

But finally, about two minutes into the added three, Socceroo’s Lee Jeong Woo finally got a goal. All the frustration during the game looked worth it as he led his team on a cross-field victory run. Lee just rocketed the ball past Pierson and the shot was so strong that the ball spun into the net and got stuck in it for a few moments.

Moments later, Pasargad almost equalized as the Socceroo keeper collided with a teammate but miraculously was still able to catch the ball. Still later, the referee unaccountably called for a free kick for Pasargad way past the added three minutes. The ball sailed towards the net only to be sent out by a Socceroo player before the referee finally whistled the end of the game.


Read on to discover how Army-GTI defeated Pachanga
 

 
 

In the second game of the night, Pachanga PLDT Home Fibr FC was held down by Army-GTI FC.

Pachanga wanted to score early in the game, something made apparent with a couple of pretty good attempts already in the first five minutes.

In the early minutes, a free kick for Pachanga was taken by Reza Amirkhizan, but it didn't even rattle Army’s Ed Sacapano, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

Just at the 8’ mark, Army went ahead, as John Cain surprised the Pachanga defense, slipping in unnoticed to receive a beautifully made cross.

Moments later, Army would have made it 2-0 as keeper Steve Yambou seemed a little disoriented, but defender Deo Segunial was up to task, denying the incursion.

They may look new with their infusion of foreign talent, but Army is still Army, giving hard challenges, sometimes unnecessarily so. But Nathan Octavio and the UP boys seemed to give them little doses of their own medicine throughout the game as well.

In the second half, Army was called for a yellow card and a free kick was given to Pachanga. But Reza's usually awesome free kicks lacked their usual firepower. There were several chances for Pachanga, but nothing seemed to click, and good runs ended in dispossession in the box or shots just off target.

All throughout the game, Pachanga’s goal keeper just could not seem to pull himself together, eventually conceding another goal in the dying minutes of the game. He was unable to get a hand on a header from Kang Dae Han at the 87’ mark.

Five minutes were added to the game but nothing happened for Pachanga as Army walked away with their second win in the League. Army-GTI FC is now only a point behind league leaders Loyola Meralco Sparks. - AMD, GMA News