Green Booters reclaim second place in Season 86 after besting UP
The De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Booters have made their way back to second place in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Football tournament after pulling off a 2–1 comeback victory against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons earlier today at the UP Diliman Football Pitch. The Maroons struck first with a successful penalty conversion by Francis Tacardon in the opening half, but La Salle ultimately emerged victorious thanks to goals from Isaac Anoh and Paolo Go in the second period.
UP immediately started off with the high, aggressive pressing into La Salle’s defending half — the exact same strategy that gave the Maroons a 3–1 victory in their first round matchup. Ico Mangaoang’s reflexes were put to the test early on, requiring a diving save in just the fourth minute to clear any threat of a goal from point blank range. DLSU’s first clear chance happened in the tenth minute courtesy of a distance shot from Go which was hit in the right direction but sailed over Jose Gonzales’ crossbar. In contrast to their Round 1 battle against UP, the Green Booters played in a more balanced system that prevented the Fighting Maroons from making forward runs at will. Most of the possession was played around the center circle or near State U’s goal, with Mangaoang’s long balls and Mo Almohjili’s presence in the midfield being significant contributors to the squad.
Anoh was on the receiving end of a long through ball straight towards Gonzales’ goal in the 23rd, but La Salle’s poacher was off by just a step as UP’s shot stopper was able to prevent an attempt from materializing. Ramil Bation was responsible for the Maroons’s first shot on target in the 32nd minute, however Mangaoang proved his National Team-worthy skills once more with a deflection. UP was awarded a penalty on their next forward attempt following a challenge by Rain del Rosario inside the box, which Tacardon slotted in the bottom-left corner despite Mangaoang guessing correctly. Vincent Parpan was shown the first yellow card of the game in the 40th following a challenge on Carlos Lozano from behind, while Frank Labayen was also awarded the same four minutes later with his tackle on Tacardon. UP held onto their 1–0 lead come halftime, with four minutes of added time not enough to produce another goal from either side.
A mere thirty seconds into the second half, the Green Booters were given a penalty after Angelo Pagdanganan appeared to shove Lozano, who promptly fell to the turf. It was Anoh that stepped up to the penalty spot and sent Gonzales the wrong way, equalizing the score at 1–1 and securing his own record as the league’s top scorer at that point. DLSU maintained their balanced style of play but it was clear that the halftime break gave them a new boost of energy to apply pressure and make forward runs. UP prioritized making runs down their left wing, but Adam Abela played lockout defending against all attempts from the Fighting Maroons’ attackers. State U received another spot kick after Frank Labayen’s challenge just missed the ball inside the 18-yard box, but the resulting attempt from Tacardon sailed well past Mangaoang’s goal.
After a close save by Ico on DLSU’s side of the pitch, Go ran coast-to-coast towards Gonzales’ net and finished off the through ball with a curler to grant the Green Booters a 2–1 lead in the 64th minute. La Salle continued their high-energy pressing even after securing the lead, with more players of the Green-and-White positioning themselves up the pitch compared to the ten-man defense they oftentimes utilized in the first half. Gonzales was challenged once again in the 73rd with another powerful shot by Go, however this time around the Fighting Maroon was able to get his hands on the attempt. Mangaoang was undoubtedly DLSU’s winning factor in the last phase of the match, making saves from any kind of shot attempt to preserve the Green Booters’ advantage.
At the end of the full 90 minutes and seven in stoppage time, La Salle finally returned to the top four of the standings. The Green Booters picked up all three points and went +5 on goal difference to overtake UP for second place with nine matches in the books.
The Green Booters look to notch another win as they go against the UE Red Warriors Football Team on April 21, 6:30 PM, at the same venue.
