After succeeding against the defending champions in their previous match, the DLSU Green Booters succumbed to the glory-seeking rage of the UP Fighting Maroons, 1-3, breaking La Salle’s UAAP Season 86 two-win streak earlier tonight, March 3, at the UP Diliman Football Pitch.
Isaac Anoh kicked off the match and worked out DLSU’s only game goal. Meanwhile, Vincent Parpan, Ramil Bation, and Orlan Togores all banked it in for UP, scoring one goal each.
Controlling the middle ground
The opposing teams entered today’s matchup from different standpoints, but they both had one goal. The DLSU Green Booters were on a high after defeating the FEU Tamaraws; Meanwhile, the UP Fighting Maroons were hungry to bounce back from their recent loss against the same foe.
The Green-and-White faced great challenges early on in the first half as the ball remained in UP’s possession, with Parpan and Francis Tacardon leading the Fighting Maroons’ play in the middle. As soon as La Salle took possession of the ball, they brought the match into the right wing, where Anoh shoved it into the goal and brought an early lead to the team from Taft, 1-0, in the seventh minute.
The momentum, however, was squandered on DLSU’s side of the field. The Fighting Maroons took over once again and brought the game back to the middle, allowing Parpan to equalize the scoreboard at the 10th mark, 1-all. The red jerseys kept Enrico Mangaoang busy, who became La Salle’s key offensive player, punching out Tacardon’s corner shot at the 18th mark, catching Liam Lampayan’s kicker at the 20th minute, and denying entry for Tacardon’s countless offensive trials and two free kicks. Mangaoang managed to stop a total of 11 shots and five corner attempts by the Fighting Maroons in the first half.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Almohjili and JP Bengay tried to control the middle ground and tip the field in La Salle’s favor, but the team struggled with their counterattacks against the Iskos at full speed, creating friction between the teams and resulting in clashes and yellow cards. Anoh hunted for a lead during the two minutes of added time in the first half but was surrounded by the Fighting Maroons in full throttle, but this eventually led to them settling the halftime with a draw at 1-all instead.
Three-minute hell
Early into the second half, the Green Booters utilized their defensive schemes to fend off the Fighting Maroons’ early burst. However, Almohjili and Carlos Lozano linked up in the counterattack to give the Lasallians a much-needed boost, but the UP defense canceled out their attempts.
The team from Katipunan tried to convert plays to gain an advantage, but they were slowed down by Christian Peñalosa and Lozano’s efforts in the midfield as they showed off their composure on the ball in hopes of creating a comeback for La Salle. To ease Lasallian anxiety, goalkeeper Mangaoang made wonder saves to keep the Green Booters in the game. At the same time, rookie center backs Adam Abela and Frank Labayen kept their composure in clearing their lines.
The Green-and-White then had to prepare themselves for three excruciating minutes. With a free kick conceded on the counterattack in the 77th minute, the Green Booters had to defend a dangerous kick just at the edge of the box. To their dismay, Bation put it in the top corner to give UP the lead, 2-1. Then, after a scramble in the defensive end, Mangaoang cleared the ball but found the offense of UP’s Togores too much to handle as he chipped in the ball into an empty net to extend UP’s advantage by two, 3-1. Unable to create a possible comeback late into the game, the Green Booters had their backs against the wall as they swallowed their first defeat of the season.
After this eye-opening drubbing, the Green Booters will seek to recover from this hurdle as they go up against the AdU Soaring Falcons on Thursday, March 7, at 4 pm at the same venue.
