CNMI strikers shine anew

The CNMI U14 Team continued to make an impressive showing in the AFC U-14 Boys’ Festival of Football for East Asia.

After nailing a win over Chinese-Taipei last Wednesday in the opening of the youth event being held at the China National Football Training Center, in Beijing, the Commonwealth strikers prevailed over Macau, 1-0, and led the favored host before settling for a draw, 1-1, last Thursday.

Against Macau, the CNMI played its A team composed of Ryu Tanzawa, Dakota Hall, Joel Fruit, Julian Pellegrino, William Hinson, Jordan Butcher, John Masga, Won Juong Kim, Moris Villanueva, Joshua Galarion, and captain Kennedy Izuka.

According to an email from Gary Ramsey, who is attending a physiotherapist seminar in the festival and is assisting the CNMI strikers in their day-to-day activities, Tanzawa attempted to put the Commonwealth in the scoreboard early against Macau. Tanzawa went for kick, but the ball hit the crossbar and was deflected out.

However, the CNMI kept on trying to find a hole on Macau’s defense and its patience paid off, as 20 minutes after Tanzawa’s miss, Dakota Hall scored on a direct kick.

Macau also had opportunities to score after falling behind, but the CNMI’s defense held strong on defense to complete its second win in the four-day tournament.

Besides taking a victory, the A team was also handed a green card for showing exceptional sportsmanship, according to Ramsey. Individual green cards given to Izuka, Fruit, Villanueva, and Pellegrino.

Before the match against Macau, the CNMI’s A team faced the formidable Chinese crew in its first game in Day 2 and almost pulled off an upset over the hosts.

The game was a close one with neither team willing to give until China committed a defensive violation in the 25th minute with its player tripping Fruit. Dakota Hall took the penalty kick from the left corner with the ball rolling in, as China’s goalkeeper went to the wrong direction to stop it.

Hall and company hung on to the lead for more than one hour and seemed headed for the win before China was given a chance to equalize on a direct kick with only a minute left in the 90-minute, three-period game. The host converted the direct kick for the tie.

The CNMI tried to make one final play with the time winding down and was gifted a direct kick, too in the closing seconds, but as Hall lined up for the kick, the clocked stopped and the Commonwealth had to settle for a draw.

“The whistle blew ending the game and our chance to win outright. But we astounded a Chinese team that is considered to be one of the top teams in the tournament,” Ramsey said in an email forwarded to the NMIFA office here.

Next up for the CNMI after the game against China was Guam and this time, the Commonwealth fielded its B team against the latter. The CNMI bets played solid defense for the first 30 minutes before allowing Guam to score four goals. Despite the loss, the B team received green card from the referees.

After playing back-to-back days, the CNMI took a breather yesterday and will resume their campaign in Beijing today when it faces Japan at 8:30am (10:30am on Saipan). Then on Sunday, the Commonwealth strikers will collide with North Korea anew at 8:30am and meet Mongolia for the first time at 11:30am.