U14 picks up first win behind strong defense and play of Mosquera

The early bird gets the worm. 

It was an excellent early Sunday morning for ADC’s U14 squad, as they picked up their first win in Liga Pro Futbol Panama play in a 2-1 victory over UMECIT. The team was led by player of the match Angel Mosquera, who knocked in the first goal of the contest and effectively controlled the midfield. 

“My feelings after the victory were of satisfaction; the team fought in all its lines to win,” head coach Andres Madrid said.

The early minutes of the match were characterized by intense ball pressure from both sides, daring their opponent to make a mistake. That strategy paid dividends for UMECIT almost immediately, as Curundu missed the mark on several through balls in addition to mishandling balls on the back end.

But thanks to some inspired play from defender Alfredo Ovalle and his fellow defensemen, ADC avoided any damage despite multiple chances for UMECIT in the first seven minutes. This continuous pressure eventually wore down, and around the 11:20 mark ADC would capitalize on the missed chances from UMECIT.

“Before starting the match, we managed to talk and understand that if we played as a team, the result would truly be good, and so it was; we were a team and it showed in the result,” Madrid said.

As an UMECIT player misplayed a ball in the air, the opportunity to have a good look suddenly was floating in the midfield. Mosquera was not going to let this turn into another empty possession. Corralling the ball and taking a few dribbles towards the middle of the pitch, Mosquera launched a shot from outside the box. 

Moments later, Mosquera was on his knees in celebration as the UMECIT goalie was still feeling the wind on his fingertips from the perfectly placed ball in the top-right corner. 

Less than 10 minutes later, UMECIT would cash in on its own long shot. After a sequence of saved shots and halted runs from both sides, Curundu would concede a shot nearly directly following a throw-in. Two touches after the throw-in, the ball came soaring from deep on the left sideline, eventually finding its way into the net to tie the game at 1. 

With the intensity raised dramatically after the goal, every move from both sides became life-or-death. For the remainder of the half, it was life for both teams, as any possible chance at a goal was easily saved or landed just off target. The closest of these came on another play from Mosquera in the closing minutes of the half. Attempting to pass across the box to a waiting ADC attacker, his right foot was just a bit too strong, with the half ending to a 1-1 score as the ball rolled past the left goalpost. 

If the first half ended with little excitement, the start of the second made up for it and more. After a corner kick in the first minute did not find any real estate, ADC struck gold at 27:20. Ovalle found Jose Angel Arrocha in the top right of the box, and the striker was able to place a ball on the ground that rolled to the opposite side of the field just past a diving keeper for a goal. 

Despite the new lead, Curundu did not let up at all in their attack, forcing UMECIT’s goalie to consistently make saves. In the two minutes following the Arrocha goal, ADC had three more shots, all resulting in stops. The third of those marked clear desperation from the trailing side, as the shot came off a yellow card given to a UMECIT defender for an illegal tackle on Oriel Valencia. 

The rest of the game had the feeling of a long tennis rally: lots of strong shots, but nothing to show for it for either side. Both teams had several shots that looked like they had a chance, but the goalkeeping was stout enough to prevent any further scores. By the time the final horn sounded, both squads had tallied a large number of shots on goal, but ADC’s squad was celebrating their first victory in league play.