By Mike T. Limpag
Saturday, February 11, 2012
CEBUANO keeper Charles Villarta played exceptionally but paid dearly for a single mistake in Cebu Queen City United’s 1-0 loss to leaders Pachanga FC in the United Football League Division 2 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium yesterday.
Cebu is stuck at seventh place with four points on a win, one draw and one loss, while Pachanga, which featured the country’s former top striker Freddie Gonzales, is no. 1 with a perfect 15 points in five matches.
Cebu got the first shot at goal yesterday with team captain Jan Michael Flores’s 30-yard free kick just hitting high but Pachanga quickly retaliated with a header that hit high.
In 11th, Marcel Rivera got his first yellow card for a clumsy challenge, while Robert Cañedo got the first real chance for Pachanga as he hit the bar. In the 15th minute, Villarta mishandled the ball but the defense was quick to clear it.
One down
Things got worse for Cebu in the 29th after Rivera earned his second yellow for another challenge, leaving Cebu a man behind against a team that scored 19 goals in its first four wins.
Gonzales, the first Pinoy who signed a professional contract in Vietnam, showed his deft touch but his volley was saved by Villarta.
Pachanga dominated the offense in the first half with 15 shots—six on target—and hit the bar three times.
And just four minutes into the second half, Gonzales pounced on Villarta, winning a 50-50 and flicking in a diving header for the lone goal.
Villarta redeemed himself in the 71st as he punched the ball away from a slow-reacting striker, whose kick hit the Cebuano in the shin.
Julius Acre, who came in as a sub, tried his luck from 35 yards but his teasing freekick swerved away from the target, while Rommel Cuizon’s 20-yard shot in the 87th also sailed high , as the Cebuanos settled for their second loss in the tournament.
Despite the loss, the match was a stark improvement from the last time the two sides met, which ended in a 4-0 rout for the Norman Fegidero-coached Pachanga in the UFL Cup.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 12, 2012.
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