Ayi Nii Aryee strikes during UP's first bout against UST. The Ghanian player's two successful strikes vs the Thomasians in the second round gave the defending champs their 3rd trip to the finals in four years. File photo by Ronin Bautista
Article by Aeron Valderrama
Peaking at the right time.
Defending UAAP champions University of the Philippines (UP) men’s football team continues its 2nd round killing streak after routing last year’s finals rivals, University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Booters, 2–0, to take their fourth straight win on February 15 at the Ateneo’s Ocampo field.
A counter-attack gave the defending champs its first goal in the 14th minute with Ayi Nii Aryee ending the run. The striker then bought his team the finals ticket with a volley in the 49th minute.
Missing the services of ace striker Jinggoy Valmayor due to suspension from yellow card accumulation, UP played a more defensive 4-5-1 formation with Ghanian Aryee as the lone forward. This choice prevented UST from feeding the ball to attackers Ojay Clarino and Christian de Juan. With a crowded midfield complemented the team’s defensive line in this game, the Diliman squad any attempt of the Tigers to score. However, a break away near the half time saw UST’s Kenneth Parao with a chance at an equalizer that hit the far post of the UP goal and Tyrone Caballes collected the ball just in time, as the half time whistle soon sounded.The continued Maroon pressure on the UST defense in the 2nd half caused the Golden Booters to scamper for the ball near their penalty area. UST goalkeeper Ramon Borigas deflected UP’s Michael Simms’ attack in the 49th minute, but Ayi struck ball mid-air into the net to peg the final scoreline. The Tigers tried to get a goal back in the remaining minutes and had chances, but were denied by the back four of the reigning UAAP titlist.
Last year’s runner up is now 2nd place in the race for the last finals slot with 15 pts, followed by FEU with 14 pts. The España squad faces the Morayta XI for a do-or-die match on Sunday.
