Photo by Josef Santiago

by Juancho Cantada

The Ateneo Boys’ Football Team drew with rivals, De La Salle Santiago Zobel  (DLSZ) Junior Archers, in a heated RIFA matchup at the Marikina Town Field on September 30.

The match kicked off with both teams launching back-to-back counterattacks right off the bat, with most of the chances being in favor of DLSZ.

The aggressiveness of DLSZ later paid off as Jayden Gayoso scored within the opening minutes, giving the early lead to the Junior Archers.

However, Ateneo refused to back down as they continued making chances throughout the half, eventually leading up to Raymond Chavez scoring the equalizing header in the 41st minute coming from a free kick, putting the Blue Eagles back on track.

“We just came back from a loss and we wanted to beat La Salle while carrying the badge and honoring God,” Chavez said, describing his mindset during the match. “It motivated the team to keep moving forward and do our best.”

The first half ended in a deadlock, with the score of 1-1.

At the start of the second half, it was Ateneo’s turn to control the tempo, holding most of the possession throughout and creating constant chances.

Coming off a cleared ball from an attempt by an injured Antonio Altuna, Ivan Gabasa found himself with the ball in the box, and gave Ateneo the goal to give them the lead at the 63rd minute.

Despite DLSZ’s attempt to create chances, the Blue Eagles held firm and mounted attacks of their own.

The match also grew physical between the two sides, with the Junior Archers tallying two yellow cards.

In the 82nd minute, the Blue Eagles found themselves in another set piece, as Ivan Gabasa scored another goal coming from the free kick to extend Ateneo’s lead to 3-1, giving him his second goal of the match.

“I just needed the team to get [us] back up the lead,” Gabasa stated on his two goals and his mentality during the moments. “We needed someone to step up and motivate the team to win the game.”

However, the Junior Archers refused to go down without a fight, as they unleashed the arrows in the final minutes of the match, going all out on attacking.

Substitute Max Revilla put up a goal of his own within the final minutes before stoppage time, making the score 3-2 and bringing back DLSZ’s hopes.

The Junior Archers weren’t finished yet as Bert Margarse scored the equalizing goal coming from a set piece in the added time.

The blue eagles team captain, Manu Simpao mentioned “We played this team last Sunday and we lost, so being able to draw and almost win against them is already such a big improvement.” about the team moving on from this draw. 

“We move on, work harder, and eventually get the results we want.”

The match ends with both teams ending in a deadlock, with the final score of 3-3.

As the Blue Eagles prepare for their next matchup, they will return to the pitch hungery for a win.