By: Nicole Parallag
University of Santo Tomas kicked off its second round campaign in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Football Tournament on a high note, defeating De La Salle University 2-1 on Sunday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
Justine Marquez set the pace for the Golden Booters by scoring in the 44th minute, boosting UST’s confidence as they led 1-0 at halftime.
Kyler Escobar secured the win for UST with a long diagonal assist from Archie Beluga, earning a point at the 69th minute.
“Yung first game namin sa UAAP is must win. If La Salle kase manalo, maiiwan kami so sa start nami ng first round diba talo so gusto namin umpisahan na ung second round na manalo ung team namin,” said coach Marjo Allado on UST’s win.
“Kahit mga first year rookies’ kayo pero sa abilities ninyo kaya nyo ung mga team eh, it’s a matter of confidence. Good game for us, maganda siya kase La Salle pa tinalo. Ung performance nila nag improve from the first round.”
De La Salle managed to pull one back late in the match as midfielder Paolo Go scored off a free kick in the 81st minute, giving them a chance to stay in the game.
Another opportunity arose for the Green Booters, but Christian Penalosa’s attempt in added time on the free kick went in vain.
With the victory, the Golden Booters leapfrogged the Green Booters to fourth place in the standings with 10 points and a plus-3 goal difference, while the latter fell to fifth place with nine points and a zero goal difference.
UST will face the University of the East after a long break on April 4 at 4:00 p.m., whereas De La Salle will attempt to bounce back against Adamson University at 6:00 p.m. on the same day.
Both matches will take place at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
UST XI: Abada (GK,C), Alegre, Baito, Escobar, Belluga, Selarde, Valderama, Vercide, Marquez, Regis, Garcia
DLSU XI: Mangoang (GK), Del Rosario, Cruel, Go, Anoh, Almohdili(C), Penalosa, Elnas, Bengay, Abela, Labayen.
