FRANCIS Tacardon’s strike was the difference-maker, lifting University of the Philippines to a 1-0 victory over Adamson University and notching their first winning streak in the UAAP Season 85 Men’s Football Tournament, Sunday at the UP Diliman Football Field.

Tacardon, a British International School, Phuket alumnus, pocketed the winning goal in the 58th minute goal helping UP get two consecutive victories for the first time this season.

Behind Tacardon’s strike, the Fighting Maroons rose to fourth place in the standings with 14 points on the back of three wins, five draws, and two losses.

Despite the result, UP head coach Anto Gonzales was not pleased with his team after the match.

“They have to be disappointed with their performance,” said Gonzales. “It’s not the performance that we intend to put out in terms of effort, in terms of using their heads.

"They didn’t play smart. They lost out on the second balls, on the 50/50 balls. It cannot be. Cannot be," he continued.

During the first half, UP threatened to break the deadlock early in the match. Tacardon had a sniff at goal that he shot over while Arturo Alleje struck wide after a fine passage of play.

However, it was Alleje’s lack of chemistry with fellow striker Anton Guariña that frustrated their coach as the Fighting Maroons have only scored one goal each in their past two matches.

“The forwards don’t use their heads. They don’t use their heads. We’ve been drilling… but I have to be patient. We just have to go back again. We’ve been drilling the two forwards together. In this game, they moved together at the same time. It’s not supposed to be that way,” added Gonzales.

On the other hand, Adamson is bottom of the standings with a point after one draw and nine defeats.

UP XI: Celeste (GK), Bongolan, Bugayong (C), Tobias, Calayag, Tacardon, Huelva, Ramos, Guariña, Alleje, Lobitana.

AdU XI: Suarez (GK), Buenaobra, Casing, Digha (C), Empleo, Francisco, Gardon, Jayaon, Arañas, Poncardas, Coquilla.