United City capped off their 2024 Philippines Football League campaign in style, putting nine goals past a hapless Maharlika Taguig in an eleven-goal thriller at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
UCFC, coming off a tense 2-2 draw with One Taguig the week prior, started on the front foot. Troy Limbo opened the scoring only eight minutes in as Maharlika defender Timothy Uy lost out in a physical duel with Ariel Ngueukam. Limbo then turned provider just eight minutes later, sending a pinpoint cross that was headed in by in-form midfielder Ricardo Sendra for his seventh goal in four matches.
Maharlika, who lost to struggling Mendiola last week, found it hard to cope with United City’s height and physicality. Club top scorer Ariel Ngueukam made it 3-0 in the 21st minute with another headed finish, and nearly made it two in the 29th, but his prodded finish sailed over the bar.
As the first half ticked on, Maharlika found themselves growing into the match, but the final ball was frustratingly absent. Dante Terando’s one-on-one chance in the 30th minute was cleared away by James Sunday before he could get his foot to it. United City would go up the other end and make Maharlika pay for that miss, as Ngueukam was on the end of Bugas’ square pass to make it four.
The second half started in the same fashion as the first. Ngueukam completed his hat trick with a header from Curt Dizon’s corner to make it five. Maharlika were not entirely out, however, and pulled one back just two minutes later as Lucas del Rosario found French winger Junior Mailly, whose low drive from the edge of the box lowered the deficit to four once more.
What was turning into a more muted second half soon exploded into life, as Maharlika shot themselves in the foot. Victor Nkoa’s misplaced pass allowed Diego Aspiras to play in Sendra, and the Argentine calmly finished past Mamadou Sene to make it 6-1. In a mirror image of the start of the half, it took Maharlika two minutes to respond – midfielder Emmanuel Otuyemi’s magnificent curling free kick soared into the top corner to once again trim UCFC’s goal difference.
The disparity in depth between the two sides soon began to show. Substitute Ivan Ouano missed two back-to-back chances, while Sendra picked up a hat trick of his own after taking advantage once more of a lethargic Maharlika defense. Gio Pabualan’s long-range effort just minutes after coming on made it eight, while fellow substitute Jemar Andrade made it a scarcely believable nine goals as the match entered stoppage time.
The match ended shortly after, a moment of triumph for UCFC, whose rocky start to the season had seen management changes and poor performances. They have to wait for One Taguig and Davao Aguilas to play tomorrow to see if they will finish a very good fourth or a solid sixth place. Maharlika, with a top 10 spot secured, will look to the off-season to address what has been a mixed bag of a season, one with undeniable victories but also debacles like this that could have been avoided.
