The DLSU Men’s Football Team suffered its first loss of the second round, losing against the UP Fighting Maroons, 2-0, yesterday at FEU Diliman. Although UP was in possession of the ball throughout most of the first half, La Salle was in great control of its defense, doing its best to keep the Maroons from scoring. Unfortunately, a penalty kick was given to UP, which Daniel Saavedra converted in the 27th minute of the game. Fidel Tacardon was also able to score at the 82’ mark from a deflection off of La Salle’s Joem Logarta.
After the game, team captain Noel Brago said, “We may have lost the game but I know our team will bounce back. [We’re] disappointed with the result but need namin maging mentally strong in order to move forward.”
After today’s match, La Salle sits at fourth with 16 points, while UP leads the table with 29 points followed by Ateneo and UST who have 25 and 18 points, respectively.
Defensive first half
UP immediately took control of the ball and held onto it throughout the first 45 minutes of the game, making sure La Salle received no attempts at goal while at the same time, challenging their defensive line. Both Saavedra and Tacardon hustled for a goal to give to the Maroon team, as they were the two players who had the most shot attempts.
A close call was on a free kick in the 13th minute by Tacardon, whose shot went past the two-man wall. Luckily, Paeng De Guzman stayed alert as he was able to catch the low shot, taking the ball between his legs. Minutes later, Tacardon challenged Nate Alcantara to the goal but his quick legs were not able to make the shot as center back Noel Brago was there to stop the play with a well-timed sliding tackle.
In the 26th minute, however, Saavedra tried for a goal but was blocked by the left back Alcantara. The UP player tried for another shot right after the block but Alcantara committed an accidental handball inside the box, giving UP a penalty kick. Saavedra then wasted no time taking the penalty as De Guzman misread his movements, resulting in a goal for UP in the 27th minute.
While UP had 11 first half attempts, DLSU only had one, which was when substitute Nicko Villacin dribbled the ball towards the goal and tried to convert but was stopped by goalkeeper Harel Dayan.
Lackluster second half
La Salle was able to gain more composure in the second half, somewhat improving on the offensive side, while remaining strong on defense. UP, however, remained fast and aggressive with the ball, showing no signs of exhaustion. The Green-and-White was also able to earn more attempts at scoring as well as corner shots but none of them were able to make it past the goalkeeper.
Fresh legs were brought in for both teams as substitutions were made to replace the exhausted players and those who were no longer working well on the field. Although six of La Salle’s starting players were replaced by bench players in the second half, their efforts were not enough as the team from Katipunan was still dominant with the ball possession.
A goal was nearly made by La Salle in the 69th minute when Mateo Alegre got past UP’s midfielders and took an on-target shot from long range but it was read clearly by Dayan as he was able to receive the ball. He then took another attempt at the 75’ mark by crossing the ball to Chris Lawless but the ball was too high for Lawless who aimed for a header goal, missing the ball by merely inches.
UP also had its share of attempts as their players fought to score another goal making sure they kept themselves above DLSU. A shot attempt by Tacardon was made in the 77th minute but Logarta was there to block it. Not giving up, the UP player made a header after a teammate crossed the ball towards him but he missed the goal. Not long after, the striker’s efforts paid off as he dribbled the ball towards the top left corner, getting past the La Salle defense and beating Villacin to the ball. Initially, Tacardon was supposed to pass the ball towards Kintaro Miyagi to give him the shot but Logarta deflected the ball, resulting into a goal in the 82nd minute.
When asked for his comments on today’s game, team captain Noel Brago said that he is confident that his team will be able to bounce back from the loss and that they are still on track with regards to achieving their main goal which is to get into the final four.
With the lack of offense in the team, the defender said that they lacked creativity in today’s game. “Need namin mag-double time since crucial na yung remaining games.” As for the defensive side, though they held up in some parts of the game, there were still errors committed which gave UP three points and thinks that these should be minimized in order to improve on their remaining games for the second half.
The Men’s Football team will resume action after Holy Week on Sunday, April 8, 3:30 pm at the same venue, where they will be playing against UST.
