Advertisement

UFL: Archers, Global book last quarters slots as Cup reverts to unusual bracket

Match reports on the UFL Cup Round-of-16 games on Thursday.

Green Archers United Globe 6, Manila Jeepney 2.

The Archers comfortably eliminated debutantes MJFC to make the elite eight with strikes from Gabe Olowoyeye, Dodz Pasinabo, Chieffy Caligdong, Tating Pasilan, Jesse Martindale and Mikel Garcia.

It was a night of subpar defense for the beep-beep crew, who reached the terminal in their first-ever competition.

Olowoyeye kicked off the rout in the sixth minute, and seven minutes later Pasinabo volleyed to make it 2-0.

Jeepney then fought back to no avail, with Powers Valeroso denied on a 1v1 by fine keeping from Patrick Deyto, then Guy Ndem A Kiyeck hitting the post from the right flank.

At the half hour mark Sean Iliff hooked across Deyto's goal frame, then minutes later Masoud Shadideh was in a close-quarters 1v1 with Deyto, only to attempt a chip that went straight to the keeper.

ALSO READ: Can UAAP Football be the next UAAP Volleyball?

Five minutes before halftime substitute Caligdong, a surprise non-starter, unspooled a strong left-footer from outside the box that skittered under MJ goalie JC Golez's body for 3-0.

Three minutes after the interval Jeepney finally got on the board thanks to a magnificent outside-of-the boot hoof from just outside the box by Mamadou Sangare.

But in the 55th GAU was up by three again when Pasiabo's long diagonal pass found Pasilan, who outfoxed his marker and rounded Golez, allowing him to sneak the ball in from an acute angle for 4-1.

Since grade school magkakasama kami kaya alam niya (Pasinabo) kung saang ibibigay ang bola para sa akin” said Pasilan afterwards. Both players grew up in San Carlos City.

In the 69th minute substitute Chris Arceo headed past Deyto to make it 4-2 and offer Jeepney a glimmer of hope. But just nine minutes later Martindale unleashed a monstrous left-footed blast from seven meters outside the penalty area that drilled through Golez's outstretched palm for 5-2.

Two minutes from time Garcia nodded home from close range after Golez was unable to parry Caligdong's shot properly, resulting in the 6-2 scoreline.

Afterwards MJFC team owner Dong Longa revealed that their centerback Mark Villon, a former national team player, was unable to get excused from his day job for the match, which was partly to blame for the sloppy defending.

GAU now faces Ceres- La Salle in the quarters, with the winner meeting either Global or Loyola in the semis.

Global 8, Navy 0.

The 2012 league champs flattened Philippine Navy with the help of a hat trick by Mark Hartmann, plus scores from Jeffrey Christiaens, Izo Elhabbib, Jason DeJong, Aaron Altiche, and Angel Guirado.

Christiaens opened the scoring with a fine volley from the left flank in the sixth minute. Elhabbib notched his opportunistic strike 26 minutes later.

Hartmann struck in the 13th, 26th, and 54th minutes to get his triple. His third goal was perhaps the prettiest, as it came after a neat back-and-forth exchange between him and Christiaens.

DeJong picked up a rare goal in the 62nd by lobbing over Navy goalie Rogelio Aspa. Then seven minutes from time Altiche dinked in a cross from Jerry Barbaso. Guirado's 86th minute strike completed the scoring.

Global have one injury concern: Christiaens limped off in the second half with a hamstring strain. "We'll have to assess this, but it doesn't look good" said Global coach Brian Reid.

Navy's Choy Leyble said before the game that many of the enlisted men on his team, like those in Air Force and Army, have been occupied with Yolanda relief work, which hampered their ability to train.

ALSO READ: Philippine Super Liga Grand Prix Day #4 recap.

League reinstates funky tournament bracket.

In a surprising move, the UFL announced on Thursday that the original bracket will be followed for the Cup, after a decision of their technical committee.

This was the text on the email sent to members of the media:

The UFL will be reverting back to the original bracketing format of the knockout rounds that was revised prior to the start of the Round of 16, as decided by the Technical Committee last night. Although the Tech Comm admits the initial format is flawed, as the top seeds immediately face each other in the quarterfinals, it was agreed that changing the format midway through the competition would be an unhealthy precedent to set for future competitions. The committee accepts that it was an oversight in their part not to have altered the format before the start of the competition, and has vowed to be more diligent in ensuring similar problems will no longer arise in the future.”


Global were originally bracketed to meet Stallion in the quarters but they now tangle with Loyola in a battle of the top two seeds after the group stage. The two clubs also have the biggest fan bases among all the teams.

This bracket also means Pachanga, instead of meeting the Sparks, sets a date with Stallion. The winner of that match will face the winner of second-division Union and the competition's Cinderella team, relegated Air Force.

Ceres, the national champs, duke it out with Archers, with whoever emerging from that encounter matching up against either Loyola or Global.

The league amended the bracket shortly before the group stage ended to ensure that the top seeds can only meet in the very end of the tournament, as is the case with almost all seeded tournaments in all sports. But the abrupt about-face has resulted in quite a lot of chatter on social media and in Football circles, with many opining that the league should have easily gotten this detail right from the very start.

That's the decision of the committee and we will abide by it” offered Global boss Dan Palami on Thursday. “But I hope it doesn't happen again.”

QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, November 26:

5 pm Green Archers United Globe vs Ceres La Salle

7:45 pm Global vs Loyola

Thursday, November 28

5 pm Air Force vs Union Internacional Manila

7:45 pm Stallion vs Pachanga Diliman

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.