THE GOLDEN Booters are poised to claim a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four with a tournament-leading 17 markers, a point ahead of second-running Far Eastern University.
The point total is courtesy of UST’s five wins and two draws, their latest conquest being a 3-2 manhandling of University of the East (UE) last February 10 at the Ateneo de Manila University Erenchun field.
“Everybody in the team is stepping up, delivering a good performance every game,” coach Marjo Allado said. “But we need to win our next games to play for the championship. The 17 points we have right now are still not enough.”
Golden Booters’ ace striker OJ Clariño accounted for UST’s solitary goal in the first half while Mandie Boy Lunag got two easy goals out of free kicks in the second, to push UST further ahead.
But without John Caballero, the Golden Booters could only manage a scoreless draw against De La Salle University last February 7.
Caballero was suspended after receiving a double yellow card in the team’s match against Ateneo last January 31. UST opened the first round of eliminations on a high note with a 1-0 stunner against home team Ateneo last January 31, courtesy of a goal from Caballero.
But the victory came at cost after strikers Clariño and Christian De Juan both sustained injuries. The España-based booters settled for another draw, 2-2, against the menacing FEU last January 28, after they upset defending champions University of the Philippines (UP), 2-1, last January 24. UST also blanked UE (2-0) and De La Salle (1-0) last January 20 and 17, respectively.
Role-reversal
In women’s play, the Lady Booters are in second place with 10 points, behind La Salle’s 14 markers. Next to UST is FEU with nine points. The Lady Booters squandered a goalkeeper advantage against La Salle, 0-1 last February 11 at Ateneo’s Erenchun field.
The Taft-based booters did not have their original goalkeeper, who was issued a red card last February 8 for holding the ball outside the penalty area twice.
“They don’t seem to have the heart to play their game,” Lady Booters head coach Rozano Estrabon said in Filipino. Estrabon said that unlike last year, his wards could no longer finish the 90-minute game.
He added: “If they get tired, they won’t put extra effort to run unlike [top-seeded] La Salle who’ll do everything to win.”
Prior to UST’s loss against La Salle, Season 71 Rookie of the Year Marianne Narciso powered the team to 3-0 win against UP in the 41st, 58th, and 76th minute last February 7.
The win was a confidence-booster for the Lady Booters who were good only for a nil-all draw against La Salle on top of a 0-1 loss to FEU.
Earlier, the team beat Ateneo, 2-1, and blanked UP, 2-0 during the elimination round. With reports from A.R.H Royandoyan
