Manila Metros

MATCH REPORT: October 26, 2019
WFL Matchday 4: Manila Metros 6-1 Manila Tala
McKinley Stadium 2:00 pm
Goalscorer (Assist): Francisco (Uddenvall) 11’, Ryan (Uddenvaall) 37’, Ryan (Mijares) 57’, Obarijima (Sulla) 66’, Ryan PK 77, Francisco 81’
Man of the Match: Chris Uddenvall has been influential in the attack after his switch this season to a more attacking midfield role away from his usual position as the anchor in front of the defense. His calmness on the ball and his pinpoint delivery was key as the Metros fought back after conceding early to eventually win the game. Shoutout to Norman Francisco with a strong showing with his two goals, his first a timely equalizer in the first half.

The current WFL division champions Manila Tala paid a visit to the Metros at their home stadium of McKinley on matchday 4 of the WFL 2019/20 season. The Talaticos have undergone a bit of an overhaul as a squad with several key players transferring to other teams and the lineup that squared up against the Metros had a very different look to the team that bested Manila Hurricanes to the title last year.

For a Manila Metros team that was going through its own period of adjustment after the long term injuries suffered by two key players.

What the Metros would not have wanted was to start slowly and unfortunately conceded at the first asking from Tala with a towering header at the back post from a corner within the first five minutes. The Metros were punished for starting slowly and were fired to respond.

Within the first fifteen minutes the teams were leveled when Norman Francisco scored a dominant header of his own from a deep Uddenvall freekick to the back post. This was just the response the Metros needed.

With their new squad Tala were taking some time to grow into the game. For all their good play in their third and the middle of the park the final ball was somewhat lacking. The away side were lined up with a tall forward who was a handful for the Metros backline but he lacked the supporting runs to really hurt the home side.

Tala vs Metros is always a tough and physically contested match and it showed midway through the first half with the Tala striker lashing out twice in the span of 15 or so minutes to earn two yellow cards and an early bath.

With the numerical advantage the Metros were pushing on looking to capitalize and take the lead. With Uddenvall playing a free role behind the forward he was able to create an overload on the right side of the pitch to receive and play a curling cross behind the defense for Ryan to come late and finish first time on the volley.

Coming from behind the Metros now led the champions 2-1 who were looking to adjust their shape after having gone down to ten men in the first half.

The second half started as the first half ended with the Metros having all of the ball and Tala holding shape to try and limit the home team’s ability to play through the lines and hurt them in the final third.

Their resistance was broken with Uddenvall again at the center of it spotting the penetrating run of Ham Mijares behind the defense to thread him through for Mijares to cut back around the penalty spot for Ryan to finish first time.

Understandably it was challenging for Tala to mount a comeback with their new look side and with the man disadvantage but they defended strongly and looked to frustrate the Metros at every opportunity.

With his second assist in as many games Sulla caught the Tala defense off guard with a perfectly timed slide ball for Obarijima to go one on one to finish calmly.

After this frustrations started to set in from the Tala side and it was evident when the Tala keeper hauled down forward Ryan in the box making no effort to get to the ball. The referee was strong to immediately blow up and call for the penalty kick. Ryan picked himself up to slot past the keeper.

There was time for a final goal when Francisco, who
had started the Metros comeback with the equalizer, scored during a scramble after a corner kick.

The final whistle blew with the Metros registering another win and with the champions in rough shape during their transitional season. Big game coming up for the team with Superbad away early at the Chelsea Blue Pitch.

MATCH REPORT: October 13, 2019
WFL Matchday 3: Manila Hurricanes 5-4 Manila Metros
BGC Turf 12:00 nn kickoff
Goalscorer (Assist): Mijares 50’, Ryan PK 68’, Ryan 74’ (Sulla), ManHur OG 79’

Man of the Match: The Man of the Match for the Metros goes to the captain Ryan who was a leader at the front with his two goals. His attitude and drive was behind the Metros almost making a comeback.

This game against the reigning WFL Cup champions Manila Hurricanes was positioned as a huge test of the Manila Metros’ title credentials this season. The Metros grabbed two wins against ManHur the season passed and always seemed to raise their game against such quality opponents. Those results plus with former ManHur starting right back Norman Francisco now lining up for the Metros this season it was always going to be a match with a lot of fight and desire from both squads.

The game was played at the small BGC Turf which always makes it difficult to play any sort of settled ground passing game with everyone so close into each other. The opening exchanges saw little in the way of proper football from either team though the Metros had a header come off the cross bar in the best attack from either side.

Within the first 15 minutes though the Metros were struck by two serious injuries to two of its key players in center back leader Kim Sol landing awkwardly resulting in a broken arm and influential winger Kevin Skinker being trodden on accidentally in the aftermath of a tackle causing a MCL tear in his right knee. Both players will be missed for several months.

A shuffling in the side was necessary with a lack of fit center backs forcing a shift in tactics from the Metros. In the aftermath of the team adjusting to the loss of two of its key players, ManHur capitalized with a long ball that caught the defense out leaving the forward to slot past Sen in goal for the opener.

After overcoming the initial double hitter of losing two key players and the first goal the Metros pushed on looking to have a bigger influence in the match. The away side were able to play out of the back into midfield but the final ball was lacking and the Metros were unable to seriously test the shaky ManHur goal keeper.

Late into the half however two lapses in concentration allowed the home team to capitalize with some clinical finishing to put themselves up 3-0 within the first 45 minutes. A lot of work to be done in the second half if the Metros were to grab a result from this.

Some early pressing paid dividends when a back pass to the ManHur keeper was closed down by the Metros offensive line leading to a shanked clearance. Egyptian Filipino Hamo Mijares was first to it and his touch prodded the ball into the net for the Metros response.

The Metros looked dangerous from set pieces utilizing their height and ability in the area. Shortly after pulling a goal back a corner produced a bit of mayhem in the box with a Metros shot on goal eventually hitting the arm of a ManHur defender. The ref was aware to the situation and called a penalty pick when other refs might have played on. Captain Eoghan Ryan stepped up to convert his third penalty in as many games.

ManHur were rattled but with the quality they had they were always going to be dangerous on the break with the Metros pushing hard looking for the goals they needed to get back into this game. Miscommunication at the back resulted in a fluke of an own goal restoring a two goal lead for ManHur.

Rotations were key given the extremely hot conditions of the match and one such substitution paid dividends when Fred Sulla found time and space to play a ball over the top for Ryan to latch onto and score. This was a big moment for Sulla after sitting out most of last season with a recurring groin issue. The match was back to just having one goal between the two sides.

In a match that was going back and forth the entire time another swing happened when a weak clearance at the back for the Metros allowed ManHur to play in one of their attackers for their 5th goal of the match. The Metros will feel aggrieved that without their leader Solheim at the back the type of goals they conceded were very weak.

Late pressure from the away side forced a ManHur OG to pull it back to within one again. But with just over ten minutes left to play the home team were able to weather the late pressure to hold on for a 5-4 match in a crazy game that showcased both team’s ability to be dangerous going forward while less assured defending.

A disappointing result for the Metros but something to build upon moving into the next round of games. The challenge now will be grinding out results until we are up against ManHur again in the reverse fixtures for a chance at retribution.

The Manila Metros are looking for new players. Please DM your details.

Extended Match Highlights

Manila Metros vs Stafford Utd
October 14, 2018

A super tense game against Stafford United in the early rounds of the Weekend Futbol League 2018-19 season.

Check out our extended highlights from the match! Lots of cool editing c/o Daniel Meñes.

Manila Metros vs Stafford Utd Extended Highlights WFL 2018-19 Matchday 2 Manila Metros vs Stafford Utd

MATCH REPORT: October 7, 2018
WFL Matchday 3: Never United 6-7 Manila Metros
McKinley Stadium 6:00 pm kickoff
Goalscorer (Assist): Ezequiel 14’ (Ryan), Ryan 22’ (Delas), Ryan 32’ (Gentil), Ryan 42’ (Tawfik), Larsen 47’ (Stoltze), Ryan 52’ (Ezequiel), OG 60’ (Ryan)
Man of the Match: In a frantic match that ended with 13 goals scored, Captain Eoghan Ryan led the way with four goals, an assist to new strike partner Jimmy Ezequiel to open the scoring and forcing an own goal out of the Never centerback.

The Manila Metros were still smarting from losing to their first match away to Manila All Japan when they came up against Never United. Never United are one of the longest serving clubs in the Weekend Futbol League comprised of the best of Philippine collegiate football with their team all former varsity players.

The game kicked off a little after 6 pm at the McKinley Stadium in Taguig. Never United started the more determined of the two sides with their aggressive press leaving the Metros with little time on the ball although the opening ten minutes yielded little in ways of clear cut chances from both sides. After the initial exchanges the Metros midfield were yielding some better passing moves with the players sticking tighter to each other compared to last week against Manila All Japan.

The deadlock was broken before the quarter hour mark when Dane Marcus Larsen released the captain Ryan with a perfectly timed through ball to set him through one v one with the Never keeper. With the keeper onrushing Ryan opted to selflessly square the ball to summer transfer Ezequiel for a tap in and his first competitive goal for the club.

However, all was even almost right from the kick off when a foul down by the corner flag gave Never the chance to launch a ball into the Metros box which resulted in a scramble and a goal by Never to even things up.

It was soon 2-1 when the Metros were too slow to learn from Never’s first goal to concede a similar goal after a lofted ball over their backline. There were indications of a handball by the Never forward to maneuver the ball into a scoring position but the linesman kept his flag down leaving the Metros shocked at going behind.

A freekick earned on the edge of the box gave the Metros the opportunity to respond around the 20th minute mark. A dangerous whipped ball by Francois Delas allowed Ryan to apply a deft touch to guide the ball into the far post to tie the game. Shortly after more nervousness at the back gave Never an easy chance to score to make it 3-2.

Two more goals in quick succession turned the half around when Frenchman Bazil Gentil, another summer signing for the club, tormented his marker to make it to the byline to cross for Ryan to convert a weak footed volley. Shortly after Ryan had his hattrick when Tofi Tawfik played him through to volley with aplomb to achieve his perfect hat trick – header, left foot, right foot.

The Metros came into the halftime break up 4-3 with their attack looking dangerous but inversely shaky at the back.

After the restart the Metros came out the stronger with Never obviously tired from a draining first half. The Metros scored three goals in the opening 15 minutes of the second period to pull the game out of sight.

Or so they thought with Never mustering their own attempt at a comeback to score three in the last 20 minutes of the game to make it nervy at 7-6.

In the end the Metros defended resolutely to bag their first win of the new season.

The Metros are up against Stafford Utd. next week which is a little bit of a grudge match since their old days back in Division 3.