De La Salle University secured its first full points in the UAAP Season 85 men’s football tournament with a 3-0 victory over Adamson University at the University of the Philippines-Diliman Football Field on Sunday, March 5.

Coming from back-to-back losses, the Green Booters were eager to make up for lost points and they did so with a two-goal cushion by halftime.

Paolo Gabriel Go opened the scoring in the 15th minute, while Mohammad Almohjili doubled the Taft-based side’s cushion with a penalty in the 44rd minute.

“Of course, [the result] takes all the stress from everybody, from the players to the coaching staff, but we should have done much better. You know that I’m never satisfied,” De La Salle coach Hans Peter Smit said.

“We’re in the negative. We wanted to, at least, get a zero [goal difference] or get a one up but, of course, Adamson is not gonna lie down. Well, it’s a good start. Hopefully, it brings a morale boost all the way to the next games,” he added.

In the second half, Christian Peñalosa sealed the victory for the Green Booters with a cool finish in the 60th minute. After sealing its first win, La Salle hopes that it can build on this result, starting with University of Santo Tomas (UST) on the horizon.

“UST is a physical team, so we need to up our ante with regards to not just our play but our physicality also,” Smit said.

Adamson (zero) will face Far Eastern University this Thursday, March 9 at 4:00 p.m. On the other hand, La Salle (three points) will return to action against UST on Sunday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. (ABS-CBN News)