After a six-year absence in local league football, Davao Aguilas FC (DAFC) marked their return to the Philippines Football League with all three points in their 2024 season opener, scraping a narrow 1-0 victory against Mendiola FC 1991 at the University of Makati Football Stadium last April 14, Sunday afternoon.
Senegalese target man Ibrahima N’dour made the difference between the two evenly-matched teams, slamming the ball from a lovely cross from Kart Talaroc through an open header as he was left unmarked in the box and leaving the Mendiola goalkeeper John Betanio stranded to give the lone goal of the match to DAFC 23 minutes in the first half.
Since then, it became a match of two halves, with Aguilas dominating much of the first half with their crisp short passes and high press to regain ball possession, while Mendiola turned up a gear in the second half to face off toe-to-toe with the Aguilas midfield to frustrate their build-up of play, as both teams match the in-game intensity to the extreme heat on the pitch approaching up to 35 degrees Celsius.
DAFC dictated the tempo of the match early in the opening half, retaining possession while winning aerial duels to regain possession leading to attacking opportunities but they just can’t open the floodgates early, with attempts from Uriel Dalapo and Yusuke Unoki just wide off target, before N’dour scored the opener.
With one goal down, Mendiola, who won their opening fixture last week 7-0 against Air Force, tried to hold momentum and responded quickly with a counter attack leading to a Sayed Mohebizadeh header, which was clawed out by a heroic save from Davao goalkeeper Dini Outtara.
After which, both teams tried to outdo each other in a tug-of-war of control in the midfield, with both teams using their physicality to outmuscle and regain control resulting in yellow cards awarded by the referee and heated altercations between players in the midst of a frustratingly scorching weather until the halftime whistle.
End-to-end action started the second half as Mendiola put on the attacking work led by playmaker Hiromasa Ishikawa and tried to push for the equaliser but their attempts were neutralised by the disciplined Davao backline led by captain and former Persib Bandung defender Daisuke Sato, before Davao kicked off counter-attacks of their own.
A big chance for Davao to put the game to sleep came in the 68th minute as N’dour took advantage of a sloppy backpass from the Mendiola buildup and was fouled on the one-on-one inside the box by Mendiola defender Yuan Rena, resulting in a penalty. But Davao did not double their lead as Yusuke Unoki’s penalty was saved by the big hands of former San Beda goalkeeper John Betanio in the 72nd minute.
Despite late in-game injuries forcing Talaroc and N’dour to be stretchered and subbed out, Davao held on to their backline until the final whistle to get the win in their return to the PFL, their first win since the 2018 season where they finished third out of six participating clubs. Postmatch stats from the bookies reinforce the dominance of the Aguilas in their triumphant return in the league, with their 13 shot attempts and 7 on target compared to Mendiola’s 6 total shots with one on target.
Davao Aguilas FC will strive to continue their winning momentum in the next fixture as they will face an in-form Manila Digger FC on April 21, Sunday, at the UMak Stadium at 4:00 PM kickoff, while Mendiola FC aims to get back to winning ways as they will face a distraught Garelli United FC on Saturday, April 20, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium at 3:00 PM kickoff.
