Far Eastern University quickly found a goal inside the opening minutes of its match against Club de Futbol Manila in the Copa Paulino Alcantara 2023, but conceded a stoppage time equalizer to go home with a 1-1 draw.
Jose Alon of CF Manila produced a powerful header at the 90+5’ mark to stun FEU, who played the entire second half with only 10 players after Khent Valenzuela was sent off following a straight red card a few minutes before the halftime whistle.
Valenzuela dribbled past Edmar Adonis down the touchline and as the former was about to collect the ball, Mahmoud Ali suddenly came in and successfully intercepted the ball.
Unable to stop his run, Valenzuela collided with Ali which left the latter to go down and require treatment.
“The other team were attacking, we were down 10 men, it was an unlucky call,” said FEU head coach Albert Basa.
“It was controversial maybe, the red card, cause it wasn’t intention, usually you check the intention of the player, it wasn’t naman the intention so I find it a little bit harsh, but it could’ve gone both ways.”
“So we’re down 10 men and we had limited players because three of them are in the national training pool and some of them are recovering and injuries so we were really kind of short today.”
“A lot of players were cramping up, but still, I have to give it to them, their fighting spirit, we still had chances, we could’ve converted them into goals in the second half.”
“We could’ve increased our lead, but like they say, the ball is round, it could go both ways,” said Basa.
Meanwhile, CF Manila head coach Frank Muescan admitted that there was “some frustration” on his end as they struggled to overtake FEU despite having an advantage on the number of players on the pitch.
“Hindi namin na-equalize beside na naging 10-men yung kalaban, but nagtiyaga kami and we’re hoping na even sa dugout, i-encourage namin sila kasi we’re playing against 10 men.”
“A lot of changes ang ginawa namin, ang dami naming mga subs na pinasok, pero eventually napunta kay Alon yung bola and Alon is very consistent player when it comes to hard work, when it comes to consistency sa training,” shared Muescan.
The 1-1 draw versus FEU solidified CF Manila’s spot on top of Group A with 10 points and a +5 goal difference after 4 matches played.
FEU, on the other hand, adds a point to its tally after 2 matches played and sit at fourth place with 2 points and 0 goal difference.
Philippine Air Force FC and Loyola FC are second and third in Group A, while Garelli United are at the bottom of the group with 0 points and a -7 goal difference.
Kaya FC-Iloilo is the only team in Group A who has yet to play in this year’s Copa Paulino Alcantara.
CF Manila will have a lengthy rest as its next fixture will be on September 3 against Kaya.
FEU, meanwhile, will have a chance to quickly bounce back as it battles Garelli on Sunday, August 13, 6:30pm, at Rizal Memorial Stadium.