Army, Pasargad win in UFL Cup
My reports of Saturday's games in the UFL Cup held in the University of Makati Football Field.
Dolphins 0, Diliman Victory Liner 0.
A group B clash between two Division 2 clubs ended in a goalless stalemate.
Alex Fallah of Diliman had a chance in the 40th minute with a volley that sliced wide. He also shot over twice in the second half but could not breach the goal line.
An Albert Francisco free kick from 30 meters out was on target for Diliman soon after the second half restart but it was well saved.
Diliman's best chance came in the 77th minute when Anton Amistoso collected a pass from the flank from Fallah then shot from close range. But Bernard Lelis made a superb reflex save to preserve his clean sheet.
The U.P. Alumni team dominated proceedings but could not prove it on the scoreline.
Diliman has now collected two draws and one loss in three games. They've only allowed one goal, against Kaya, but have yet to score in the Cup. They still need to face Green Archers. Dolphins has one draw and one loss.
Army 2, Agila 0.
Army goes to the top of Group D with a hard-earned victory over Agila. Jonathan Cain and Yok Becite scored late in the second half to keep Army perfect after two games.
The Armed Forces club has now won five straight UFL Cup group games dating to last year, when they finished the group stage as the top seed with the best record and goal difference.
The soldiers started brightly, with Becite, Cain, and Luisito Brilliantes pressuring the Ateneo Alumni squad's defense from the get-go with shots.
Becite had a great chance when his 42nd minute free kick was on target but Agila keeper Jerwin Belina made the stop.
Three minutes later the former Azkal midfielder was shown a yellow card by referee Allan Martinez when he made a threatening gesture to an Agila player after an altercation.
Agila had their best chance twelve minutes into the second half when winger Mikko Mabanag fired a shot at Army keeper Victorino Troyo, but the veteran parried it.
Troyo started in place of Ed Sacapano, who is in the Middle East on Azkals duty. Boogie Margarse was also away for the same reason but Roel Gener, who was not selected, wore the armband for Army.
The captain chested down and could have scored in the 64th but his shot was high of the crossbar.
In the 68th Meliton Pelayo had a go but Belina got his body in the way and the ball caromed over the bar.
The Agila keeper exhorted his weary defense with cries of "enjoy tayo, masarap maglaro!"
Philip Caballero and Laurence Bedua also tried their luck but were both off-target.
Finally Army broke through in the 80th minute when Cain latched on to Caballero's perfectly-weighted through-ball and poked it past Belina.
Becite, who worked very hard all game and narrowly missed many chances, finally picked up a goal in the 92nd minute.
Cain backheeled him a short pass and he unleashed a rocket from the edge of the penalty area that Belina could not stop.
The Barotacnon midfielder also scored in their first game, a 2-0 win over Stallion.
Agila drops to 0-2 since they also lost to Air Force earlier in the competition.
Pasargad 3, Navy 0.
Masood Shedideh, also known as Mohammad Ohadi, produced yet another sensational goal as predominantly Iranian Pasargad picked up their first win of the the Cup against the newly-relegated sailors.
Pasargad is now on one win and one loss in group A.
Pasargad could have scored twice in the first two minutes when Alireza Jamali forced a save from Navy keeper Benito Rosalia in the first minute.
Just a minute later, Shedideh's volley was just high.
In the 20th minute right back Charles Ujam had time and space from outside the penalty box but his right footed effort was a tad high and wide.
Jamali broke the deadlock in the 37th minute with a powerful strike from the edge of the box.
Pasargad had the lion's share of the chances all throughout the game, while Navy's defense, mostly held, thanks in part to Lynnard Bautista's quality at right back.
The Iranians doubled their advantage in the 68th when Shedideh artfully flicked the ball over a Navy defender before powering past Rosalia.
Shedideh has a flair for the spectacular. The big striker scored a bicycle kick goal against Global in the Cup and also notched an overhead in this year's league. His prowess at volleys has been well-established.
In stoppage time Navy's defense finally collapsed, leaving Emmanual Mbata completely unmarked with the ball in the left flank. Mbata skated around the keeper and eased the ball into the net.
Pasargad will now face Socceroo and General Trias. Navy still has Global and Socceroo on their sched as they hold up the group A table.
You can follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333. Follow the UFL @UFLPhilippines.
