De La Salle University withstood pressure from Francis Tacardon and the rest of University of the Philippines to hold on to a 1-1 draw and move to the top of the UAAP Season 85 Men’s Football Tournament table on Thursday at the UP Diliman Football Field.
The stalemate resulted in the Green Booters moving up to first place in the standings with 17 points and a goal difference of plus-3, behind five wins, two draws, and two defeats.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Maroons are in fourth place with 15 points after three wins, six draws, and two defeats.
“One point is better than zero, and the goal difference did not change too much for us,” said La Salle coach Hans-Peter Smit. “We’re still in the running. We have three more games, so we need to take out a few of the teams.
“Hopefully, the other fixtures can make it easier for all of us, but of course, we’re not gonna wait for that. We’ll play our hardest every single game, so let’s see how far we can go,” added Smit.
The Fighting Maroons leveled the contest in the 43rd minute with a Tacardon header off a cross from teammate Emilio Bongolan.
Tacardon, a British International School, Phuket alumnus, offset an early setback for UP. La Salle’s Mikio Umilin gave the Taft school the lead in the 23rd minute thanks to a penalty given for a handball on Charles Lobitana.
In the second half, the Fighting Maroons pushed hard to get the winning goal. Joseph Togores had a free kick saved by Green Booters goalie Enrico Mangaoang while Tacardon skied his attempt right at the face of the goal.
“The bright side is a huge improvement in terms of the determination and the fight of the boys coming from the Adamson game,” said UP coach Anto Gonzales. “They dug deep. They suffered a lot (with) three games in one week. They showed a really great heart today.
“Overall, the boys should be proud of the heart that they showed today,” added Gonzales.
La Salle will face Far Eastern University this Sunday at 6:30 PM. On the other hand, UP will finish the elimination round on May 4 against FEU at 4:30 PM.
DLSU XI: Mangaoang (GK), Del Rosario, R Cruel, Umilin, M Cruel, Almohjili, Peñalosa, Suarez, Henares, Dela Cruz, Eduave.
UP XI: Celeste (GK), Bongolan, Bugayong, Togores, Tacardon, Huelva, Guariña, Tidor, Alleje, Galsim, Lobitana.
