One Taguig FC completed a comprehensive 9-1 victory over Mendiola FC 1991 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, fueled by a Tsukasa Shimomura hat trick, two goals apiece from Naoto Hiraishi and Andres Aldeguer, and one from Arnel Amita, against a Hamed Hajimehdi consolation goal for the losing side.
Seven goals after halftime for OTFC helped boost their points tally and goal difference as they moved up to fifth in the table. Meanwhile, Mendiola remained in tenth position after Tuloy’s loss earlier in the day.
The Brave Men set the pace early in the match, with the attacking duo of Sajed Mohebizadeh and Ali Ghamlouche running riot in the absence of top scorer Hiromasa Ishikawa.
One Taguig then found their rhythm with chances of their own, notably with veterans Stephan Schrock and Izzo Elhabib looking to link up, but keeper John Betanio had been equal to all of their attempts thus far.
The Taguig-based side continued to build momentum, but they were mostly canceled out by Betanio’s crucial saves. They even had a penalty shout waved off as Hiraishi seemed to have been fouled by Mendiola’s Jel Jel Sison inside the penalty box.
One Taguig FC eventually got their opener after 36 minutes from Hiraishi, rushing onto the rebound from Amita’s long-range effort. Amita scored a goal of his own in the 44th minute, his mazy dribble beating the Mendiola defense and Betanio from the near post to ensure a two-goal lead at the interval for the pre-match favorites.
It was all one-way traffic in favor of One Taguig coming into the second half. Schrock found the run of Shimomura, who chipped the ball over Betanio and into the back of the net to make it 3-0 early in the second half. The former national team mainstay was again the creator for their fourth goal, pouncing on the initial save to set Hiraishi up with another header from close range.
Shimomura, a first-half sub for the injured Elhabib, scored twice in a row to complete his hat-trick: first converting a well-weighted through pass from Amita in the 65th minute, then following it up with a close shot from a deflected cross by substitute Patrick Grogg in the 72nd.
Mendiola skipper Hamed Hajimehdi pulled one back seemingly from nowhere after 78 minutes, his low shot from outside the area beating Quincy Kammeraad.
Not to be outdone, One Taguig captain and recent national team call-up Kevin Ingreso bagged a goal of his own just inside the box in the 83rd minute.
Late substitute Andres Aldeguer rounded off the rout with a brace of his own, first with a tap-in in the 85th minute from fellow substitute Grogg, then another close finish in the 88th minute assisted by Joshua Dutosme.
One Taguig FC will have the chance to pick up three wins on the bounce as they play Loyola FC next Saturday, while Mendiola FC 1991 will face a tough assignment next Sunday against defending champs Kaya FC-Iloilo in their bid to remain within the top ten this season.
Future chemical engineer and longtime football fan, Dann’s passion for the beautiful game has grown from the Miracle in Hanoi days, and he has been a Manchester United fan since. With a keen interest in the analytics side of the sport, he runs his own blog CounterPressPH, and has been covering the local game with Eat Sleep Breathe Football.
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