Reporting note: this article draws on tiebreakertimes.com.ph; Score808 Live provides the summary and editorial framing.
Jan Baito scored twice, the second a free kick in the 90+2 minute, as University of Santo Tomas beat 10-man Far Eastern University 3-2 on Thursday night at the UP Football Stadium. The UST FEU football result lifted the Golden Booters to solo fourth in the UAAP Season 89 men's tournament and stretched the Tamaraws' winless run to four matches.
UST now has nine points and a +4 goal difference, five clear of fifth-placed FEU. The Tamaraws, on +6, remain ahead of the chasing pack below them but could not convert their goal-difference cushion into points.
UST FEU football: how the three goals arrived
The Golden Booters scored inside three minutes from a set piece, Trez Mariñas turning in his second goal of the season. Baito doubled the lead in the 11th minute after goalkeeper Lance Sanchez was caught out of position, punishing a defensive line that had not yet settled.
FEU answered in the 43rd minute through Theo Libarnes, his third goal of the tournament, and the Tamaraws went into the break with a route back into the game. That route narrowed immediately: Francis Sambaan collected a second yellow card just before half-time and FEU played the rest of the match with ten men.
The numerical disadvantage did not stop the equaliser. Three minutes into the second half Karl Absalon tapped in his third goal of the season, and the match tilted into the space between UST's control and FEU's counter-attacking chances.
Allado names the mechanism, not a scapegoat
UST coach Marjo Allado credited his assistants, Carlos Santiago and Biboy Esteban, for the set-piece preparation that produced the opener and the winner. "Good job to Coach Bok and Coach Biboy for preparing the game, especially on free kicks, because that rarely happens for us," he said.
His account of the collapse was precise. "We started the game strong. We defended well and then scored," Allado said. "We became complacent instead of defending, we committed and they scored. Early in the second half it was scary because they scored early, then a lot of chances."
The winning goal came from the same dead-ball work that opened the scoring. "We tried to take advantage of FEU's red card and we scored in the last few minutes. Congrats to the boys because we won," Allado said.
What solo fourth means in the UAAP table
The three points separate UST from the pack chasing the last semifinal place. FEU's +6 goal difference is better than UST's +4, but goal difference only matters when points are level, and the Tamaraws are now five behind.
The defeat also spoiled the return of Selwyn Mamon, one of FEU's leading scorers, who had missed the previous two matches. His availability gives the Tamaraws a focal point for the fixtures that remain, but it did not solve the problem of finishing matches with ten players.
La Salle next for UST, Ateneo for FEU
UST closes its first-round campaign against La Salle at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Allado was blunt about the approach: "We're aiming to win the last match. We're not thinking about the standings. The win is what matters. We have to step up more. We'll fix the game plan against La Salle and hopefully we win."
FEU faces Ateneo at 4:30 p.m. the same day, hunting the result that ends a four-match winless sequence. The Tamaraws' goal difference suggests the performances have not been as poor as the points column implies; the disciplinary record suggests otherwise.
The original report on this match was published by tiebreakertimes.com.ph.
