The UST Lady Booters, under the guidance of new head coach Marjo Allado, fell to the DLSU Green Booters, 2-0, in their UAAP Season 87 women’s football tournament opener at the UP Diliman Football Pitch on Saturday, Sept. 21.
UST generated late-game chances but couldn’t find the back of the net. Although the Lady Booters missed out on capitalizing in the final minutes, Allado remained positive about the team’s performance.
“Overall, the girls naman played so well e. In the first half, they played very good defensively. Sa second half we tried to get one goal lang, and then meroong break of attack lang ang La Salle na ang ganda ng sipa eh,” Allado told the Varsitarian.
“We gave up two goals, but it wasn’t a bad game for the girls. It wasn’t a bad game. Kung titignan mo ‘yong effort, their defensive mentality, nandiyan e.”
The Lady Booters successfully fended off DLSU’s build-up play in the first half, but Green Booter Arantxa Trebol drew first blood, scoring off a rebound from UST goalkeeper Lizlie Garcia’s save on Shai del Campo’s shot.
In the second half, DLSU launched a counter-attack, with Maria Tanjanco’s shot curling past Garcia in the 66th minute, sealing the 2-0 scoreline.
The Lady Booters were forced to adjust their formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 after defender Lovely Fernandez experienced cramps in the second half.
“‘Yong La Salle naman they are composed of national team players, pero hindi namin naramdaman na they are national team players e,” Allado said “Kasi ‘pag mga first ball or 50-50, naukuha namin ‘yong bola e.”
“I think it’s a matter of ‘yong mga pasa doon sa players namin upfront, sa strikers, wingers. Kailangan namin noon, kasi we have speed and shooting e,” he added.
The Lady Booters will look to bounce back against the FEU Lady Tamaraw Booters at the same venue on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m.