Following their draw against the AdU Soaring Falcons last March 7, the DLSU Green Booters settled for another stalemate, 1-all, against the UST Growling Tigers as they prevented them from leapfrogging in the standings of the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Football Tournament.
Once again, Isaac Anoh got on the Green-and-White scoresheet as he slotted in a penalty at the 45+2’ mark. Meanwhile, Tarshish Garciano equalized for the Growling Tigers after a breakthrough in the 61st minute.
Captain Clutch
No feeling-out processes were needed for today’s match as both teams immediately took it to the defense right from kick-off. The game saw several possession changes in the starting moments of the match, with neither side establishing a stronghold of the ball. A failed free kick by UST’s Archie Belluga led to a counterattack by La Salle, which Paolo Go led in the fifth minute, but he failed to convert his shot.
The squad from Taft continued to have success with their offense right up to the shot, where they struggled to finish. Anoh, in particular, had multiple runs where he got a good position for a shot at the goal, but miscommunications led to multiple offsides on his part. The forward’s struggles persisted throughout the first half, missing an open header in the 14th minute.
Coming off a stellar performance in the last match against the UP Fighting Maroons, goalkeeper Enrico Mangaoang continued to anchor the DLSU backline, getting an early highlight as he blocked a laser from Graciano in the 25th minute. Not to be outdone, the team from España’s own goalkeeper Jose Abad responded with a smothering save of Anoh’s free-kick attempt in the 36th minute.
As the clock during the first half winded down, it was the Green Booters who rose to the occasion. While the UST Growling Tigers wasted their set pieces, giving the ball away due to unforced errors, the Green Booters capitalized on theirs, putting pressure on UST’s backline every time they got a corner kick. During stoppage time, Anoh pounced on a lazy clearance attempt by UST’s Jarred Regis, gaining possession of the ball deep into UST’s box. Regis unwisely tackled Anoh out of desperation, which awarded a penalty for the Green-and-White. Despite his early mishaps, Anoh stepped up to the plate and calmly rolled the ball to the net, giving his team a one-point cushion with only a minute left of stoppage time, 1-0.
Scraping by
The Green Booters were in a good mood after grabbing the lead at the edge of halftime. But the Growling Tigers immediately gave them a wake-up call in the 49th minute as Mangaoang had to deal with Garciano’s shot. The Green-and-White responded to UST’s chances by pressing high on the pitch, with Gabe Suarez giving no space for the UST backline to build up play properly.
The constant press from the DLSU frontline brought forth a breakthrough for the Green Booters as Go intercepted a pass and led the charge of the counterattack but shot the ball wide in the 51st minute. Soon after, a long pass found the boots of UST’s Kyle Escobar inside the box proved to be a turning point as he immediately squared the ball to Garciano to bang it in the DLSU net to equalize the game at 1-all.
The Green Booters immediately responded to the equalizer as they picked up the pace of their offense to try to take back the lead. They also tried their luck in their long passes but were halted as the referees called for an offside in these attempts. The UST threat did not go away as Garciano got into the DLSU box in the 81st minute, but the Lasallian defenders put any worry of a UST lead away as they kept their composure in dealing with the Growling Tiger.
Go had a chance to take back the lead for the Green Booters, but Jose Abada saved his magnificent kick from the edge of the box. Go’s free-kick was the last chance for the Green Booters as the referee blew the whistle to end the game at a draw, 1-all.
Following their second consecutive draw, the Green Booters will look for better fortunes as they end the first round against their bitter rivals, the ADMU Blue Eagles, on Sunday, March 17, at 7 pm at the same venue.
