UP secures first victory with dominant play over Adamson

University of the Philippines took control from the get-go in their match against Adamson University to claim their first victory in the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Football Tournament last October 3, Thursday, at the UP Diliman Football Stadium, Quezon City.

Despite losing their opening game in a rematch of the UAAP Season 86 semifinals against University of Santo Tomas last September 19, the Maroons proved that they are still the kings of UAAP Men’s Football after scoring 3 goals in comparison to the Falcon’s 0.

Thanks to a handy assist from Liam Lampayan, rookie Joseph Kyne Garces marked UP’s first goal of the season in the fourth minute of the game.

After more than an hour of game play, an assist by Chester Tidor aided in doubling UP’s lead as Bation, the eventual Man of the Match swiftly kicked the ball into the lower right corner of the net, much to Adamson’s disadvantage, in the 81st minute of the game.

90+ minutes into the match and less than 15 minutes after State U’s second goal, a corner kick by Benjie Palacio and another assist by Lampayan allowed senior Florenz Tacardon to head their third goal straight into the net and to UP’s sweet victory.

The Soaring Falcons grappled with controlling the ball as goalkeeper Alfonso Gonzalez steadily blocked any chance of the San Marcelino-based squad from scoring.

After this bounce-back win, UP has now entered the win column with three points and a plus-2 goal difference, giving them the fourth spot in the rankings.

Meanwhile, Adamson is at the bottom of the rankings with 0 points and a minus-8 goal difference.

The UP Fighting Maroons look forward to continuing their winning ways on Thursday, October 10, 6:30 PM at the UP Diliman Football Stadium in a match-up against Katipunan rivals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

On the other hand, the Adamson Soaring Falcons will try to secure their first win of the season tomorrow, October 6, against the UE Red Warriors at 7:00 PM at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.