After suffering their first loss of the season against the UP Fighting Maroons in Sunday’s outing, the DLSU Green Booters settled for a point against the AdU Soaring Falcons, 0-all, after a stalemate finish earlier today, March 7, at the UP Diliman Football Pitch.
Twin towers
Right off the bat, both teams displayed their grit and toughness, with players from both sides engaging in intense defense and aggressive offense. Adamson’s midfield was the difference maker in the opening minutes, as they consistently outplayed La Salle’s midfield, resulting in early chances for AdU’s forwards to attack. Fortunately for the Green Booters, Enrico Mangaoang’s excellent goalkeeping kept them safe, thwarting two shots on target by Adamson’s Ruzzel Jose and Carl Mahinay in the fifth and sixth minutes, respectively. La Salle finally got on the defensive side in the 14th minute as Mohammad Almohjili was awarded a free kick close to the box, but Adamson’s goalkeeper, Andrew Nalog, made a great read and saved the shot.
The game eventually turned into a showdown between the two goalkeepers as defenders from both teams struggled to keep the ball outside their boxes. Mangaoang caught another shot on target by Jose off a free kick. At the same time, Nalog calmly blocked a dangerously close shot by Vin Dela Cruz after a lengthy scramble, then saved two more shots on target by Dela Cruz and Isaac Anoh in the 25th and 26th minute.
After conceding chances early in the first half of the match, the Green Booters turned the tide in the closing minutes of the first half, putting pressure on the noticeably fatigued Adamson players. Dela Cruz and Gabe Suarez tallied two more shots on target for DLSU, but Nalog saved both. Jose got the best chance in the game for Adamson, yet when the ball reached him three feet away from the net—his shot went way above the goal. The Green Booters closed off the half with two more shots on target by Carlos Lozano during stoppage time, but both were saved again by AdU’s Nalog, ending the half at a stalemate, 0-0.
Getting inside the box
The Green Booters showed up in the second half with the intention of threatening the Soaring Falcons’ goalpost as they dominated possession offensively with the hopes of building up play for a goal. However, alarm bells rang for La Salle as Adamson countered their heavy possession with chances created, calling on Mangaoang to save shots for the Green-and-White.
DLSU did not let the threats of AdU harm their momentum as they immediately controlled possession once again, taking advantage of the pivot players to build up play. Their fluidity in control led them close to the final third, with Almohjili and Dela Cruz crossing it into Adamson’s box, but were caught by Nalog before any Lasallian could shoot in the final touches. And it looked like the Soaring Falcons would knock on the doors of La Salle once again with a goal looming in—but Adam Abela locked the doors to secure the DLSU goal line.
At the 73’ mark, Suarez was brought to the penalty area during a corner kick, allowing La Salle to grab the lead from the penalty kick-off. However, lady luck was not around for the Green Booters as Nalog guessed the right direction to save Almohjili’s kick. Yet the Green Booters did not let the save get in the way of their groove to hopefully score a goal as they continued to threaten the Adamson box, with Almohjili finding Suarez with some room. This allowed defenders to immediately surround them to prevent any ball from entering the net. La Salle kept the pressure on Adamson, even drawing a red card for the Soaring Falcons’ Pius Cueno at the 90+5 minute, but it was too late as the referee blew the whistle for full-time soon after to end the game at an even, 0-all.
Now, with a record of 2-1-1, the DLSU Green Booters will look to improve their record when they go up against the UST Growling Tigers on March 14 at 2 pm at the same venue.
