UFL: Pachanga edges Green Archers, Sparks and Kaya draw amidst referee woes anew

Pachanga surged up to the middle of the table following a 1-0 win against Green Archers United, while first place Loyola Meralco Sparks were held by Kaya in a 0-0 draw that once again featured questionable officiating, in UFL action, Tuesday at the Emperador Stadium.

Off the night's results, Pachanga moved up to fifth place in the standings with nine points, two ahead of the Green Archers. The Sparks stayed on top with 20, but just four in front of Global, who have played one less game, and their opponents Kaya.

Burkey strikes for Pachanga

Pachanga entered the first match of the evening on an extremely unlucky streak, having lost their last four games. Versus Green Archers United, Regular goal keeper Steve Yambou was back between the sticks, but would he be the piece that would finally turn the team around?

The Archers meanwhile came into the game off a pretty interesting match over the weekend. On Saturday, they had held down mighty Global FC to a scoreless draw. But there was also bad news for the green side, having lost Chieffy Caligdong to a fractured foot for at least a month.

As the game began, it was obvious that both teams were eager to score early. But the first 25 minutes of the game belonged to Pachanga, who hit attempt after attempt, and made the Archers’ keeper Patrick Deyto work hard.

With the score still nil-all after the break, the Archers came out a little more attack-oriented. However, Pachanga’s defense held marvelously. Defender Jason Cutamora saved Pachanga a couple of times in the game, clearing the ball during crucial moments.

At the 65th minute, Pachanga coach Noel Marcaida sent in Ariel Zerrudo for Jay Eusebio. Zerrudo had missed a couple of matches due to injury, but his entry in this game changed Pachanga’s attack, as he began to provide more options on offense.

Less than 10 minutes later, it was 1-0 for Pachanga, as Nate Burkey put the ball past Deyto.

In the last 15 minutes of the game, it was again an almost all-Pachanga show, as substitute David Fornea and Zerrudo tried to get a second goal for their club. On the other side, Yambou was making crucial saves, including one from Archer captain Tating Pasilan.

Three minutes of added time were tacked on, and at the very last minute, the Archers almost got their equalizer. Pasilan got an attempt in, but it hit the post. Yambou fumbled the ball, only for Deo Segunial to finally clear it.

It was a 1-0 victory for Pachanga, but the lone goal won't be what will be remembered in this game.

Early on, Pachaga team manager John Gutierrez got into a shouting match with referee Rey Ritaga. Gutierrez was seated at the bleachers, across from his team’s bench. After what he deemed a second non-call by the referee, Gutierrez stood up and complained about the calls, asking Ritaga to be fair, using plain, unembellished language.

Inexplicably, Ritaga stopped the game and engaged Gutierrez from the pitch. After a brief exchange, Ritaga went to the officials table and then went back to talk to Gutierrez more. When Ritaga asked him to go to the bench, Gutierrez said he was not part of the list cleared for the bench and was there as a spectator. Ritaga, in a surprising move, ordered Gutierrez out of the playing area. Gutierrez, not new to being sent off, stood up but refused to leave, saying that if he were on the bench, all that would be done was to send him to the grandstand. The game resumed only when match commissioner Mario Eala approached Gutierrez and told him to sit at the grandstand, behind the bench.

The whole episode bought to the fore procedural questions and referee conduct. Last Saturday, a referee during the Pachanga-Pasargad match had also engaged a spectator from the pitch. Can spectators now be thrown out of the venue by a referee?
 

 
 

 
 

Kaya-Sparks match turns on questionable refereeing

The Sparks and Kaya were coming off very different wins. On February 11, the Sparks squeaked past an undermanned Pachanga squad, 2-1. On the other hand, Kaya FC blasted Army-GTI FC 9-1 last Thursday. If the Sparks won, they would remain on top of the standings, getting a better foothold on that spot even if their last couple of games have been somewhat less stellar than expected. If Kaya won, they would replace Global FC at the second spot.

The Sparks had no Joaco Canas and Jake Morallo — both players were down with measles. Yves Ashime started as central defender with Sam Bonney, echoing the Sparks’ starting line-up in their draw versus Team Socceroo. Just like in that match, Phil Younghusband did not start for the Sparks.

It was furious action immediately in this game, as neither the Sparks nor Kaya gave any quarter. It was also a pretty physical match. At the 34th minute, Alex Elnar was carded for fouling Emmanuel Mbata, and then a couple of minutes before the break, James Younghusband was also shown a yellow card.

In perhaps a testament of how serious both sides were about winning, at one point, Kaya’s Chris Greatwich asked the referee to book younger brother Simon Greatwich, of the Sparks, for a challenge.

At the 38th minute, a crazy scramble developed in front of the Kaya goal. Kaya’s Alfred Osei collided with his keeper, Nick O’Donnell, and both went down briefly, taking a couple of others with them in a heap of bodies. The ball was loose and hastily sent goal-ward by James Younghusband, but Kaya's Drew Liauw managed to block it in time.

There was more end-to-end action at the start of the second half but it was becoming clear that the Sparks were struggling on offense. On the sidelines, Phil Younghusband, Joo Young Lee, and Fred Gonzalez were all warming up.

At the 60th minute, Ashime caught OJ Porteria near the goal. Porteria got the ball back, but was stopped by Baba Sampana. In a weird sequence, Porteria took off his shoe, signaled to the referee and ran into the dressing room to change boots. From the bleachers, the shoe seemed to have been damaged by the collision with Ashime and Sampana. Porteria eventually rejoined the game a couple of minutes later.

Five minutes later, Gonzalez came on for Alex Elnar, perhaps in a bid to boost the Sparks offense. Joo Young Lee had earlier entered the game for Won Hyung Lee.

Come the 73rd minute, another strange sequence occurred. The referee whistled Simon Greatwich for a foul inside the box, showing him a yellow and pointing to the spot. Chris Greatwich took the penalty and made it, but the referee signaled for a retake. The official would later say that the elder Greatwich had taken the penalty without waiting for the whistle. Off the second attempt, Sparks keeper Baba Sampana was there for the save.

At the 82nd, Phil Younghusband was sent in for Boyet Canedo, in a last-ditch effort for the Sparks.

Four minutes later, the younger Younghusband was shown a yellow for dissent after a foul was called on the Sparks right at the edge of the box. The free kick taken by Richard Greer hit the post but careened towards the goal, only to be caught by the quick-thinking Sampana.

Just moments later, a foul was called on Kaya’s Liauw, also right at the edge of the box. Phil Younghusband stepped up to take the free kick, but the ball hit the inside of the crossbar and bounced out.

Three minutes were added to the game, but it ended in a scoreless draw. Phil Younghusband was shown a red card right after the final whistle.

The post-game press conference was perhaps the most animated in a long while.

Kaya coach David Perkovic, one of the most vocal critics of officiating in the UFL, brought out OJ Porteria's torn shoe, saying that there should have at least been a penalty as he was clearly fouled inside the box. Porteria’s boot was torn through three or four lace holes.

"We were the better team,” Perkovic said. “The draw keeps us in the race. I was happy with how we played," adding that, of course, he would have been happier with a goal. In the same manner, the Australian coach also questioned why Chris Greatwich’s penalty was retaken, pointing that the whistle had already been blown.

The officiating was not spared when the Sparks Coach Vince Santos came to the press conference. The coach seemed resigned to the draw at first, saying, ”We’ll take it. We're missing a lot of players."

But then he added exasperatedly, ”Everything in football [in this country] has progressed except for the refereeing… it will hurt us when we go to international matches.”

Phil Younghusband was then asked about the red card shown him after the match. The Azkal, usually reticent about controversial calls, was clearly more than frustrated with the officiating in the match. "How many games will be decided by referees?" he asked. "Just go home and watch football, learn the rules… I don't know what else to say.” - AMD, GMA News