Back-to-back for Tan Holdings FC-1

Tan Holdings Football Club-1 bagged its second straight boys U15 title after eking out a 1-0 win over many-time division champion MP United FC in the penultimate round of the 2015 NMIFA Youth Spring League last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

Tan Holdings Football Club’s Anthony Fruit, left, and Rico Roy Reyes, right hound MP United’s Sunjoon Tenorio during the first half of their boys U15 division game in the NMIFA youth league last Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Rico Roy Reyes delivered the lone goal for Tan Holdings-1, which incidentally won its first division championships against MP United last year. Tan Holdings-1 and MP United finished the round-robin fall season with similar 4-1-0 win-draw-loss record, but the former won the tiebreak due to its superior goal difference, 35-27.

This season, Tan Holdings’ close victory over MP United gave the former a perfect 10-0-0 mark (unofficial pending release of team standings from Northern Mariana Islands Football Association) in the double-round robin contest, while the dethroned spring champion ended up with an 8-0-2 slate. Tan Holdings-1 handed MP both defeats in similar scores.

“We beat them in the first round by only a point so in the second game, I told the boys it’s going to be harder and it will take a lot of hard work and better teamwork to beat a tough team like MP United. I am proud that our boys were able to pull it through. I maybe the coach but my role is just to guide them and when it’s time to play, the players are the ones who must execute the game plan,” coach Jersh Angeles said.

The game plan was to work together on both ends of the pitch.

“If it’s time to play defense, everybody must work on defense. Once the ball is lost, everyone should go back on defense quickly. If we’re attacking, everybody should be aggressive and attack the defense of our opponents,” Angeles added.

Tan Holdings-1’s defensive strategies seemed to work, as they held MP United scoreless in the first half despite the latter’s repeated attempts to make it to the board. On offense, Tan Holdings-1 also had numerous tries, but simply could not hit the target until Reyes found himself at the right place at the right time in the 61st minute.

According to Angeles, the game-winning shot was made after Anthony Fruit went for a corner kick. The ball dropped in front of Reyes inside the box and he kicked it in for an upper corner shot that caught MP United goalie Christopher Aninzo off guard.

“The players were very happy with the close win because they know every time they play MP United they will always have a hard time against them. We will let them cherish the moment for a while, but once preparation for the new season starts, they have to get back to work because teams will be out to get us next time. They should be better prepared and not be over confident despite winning two straight championships,” Angeles said.

Joining Reyes and Fruit on the champion squad are Jonathan Capayas, Davy Laxa, Louie Calayag, Alan Hinson, Mareko Tekopua, Mark Esalan, John Michael Rojas, Jonah Poh, Jherico Tiamzon, Emmanuel Aniana, Won Kwan Kim, Roger Garcia, Albert Bergancia, and Thaiphi Austria.

Meanwhile, two other games were played in the penultimate week of the division.

In the first match last Friday, Matansa edged Paire, 2-1, while in the second game Kanoa downed Tan Holdings-2, 3-1.

Chad Shankweiller drilled both goals for Matansa, while Jefferson Sagum scored the lone goal for Paire. Matansa is done for the season, and is currently in third place behind Tan Holdings-1 and MP United, holding a 4-1-5 record. Paire dropped to fourth its 4-0-4 mark, but could regain the third spot if it wins against Kanoa FC in the final game of the season this Saturday.

Kanoa broke into the win column heading into its last game this spring after beating the winless Tan Holdings-2. Andruw Omelau, Jaydee Jose, and Kirt Andon scored one goal apiece for Kanoa, which kept the No. 5 spot with its 1-2-5 slate. Taka Borja logged the only goal for Tan Holdings-2, which concluded the season with a 0-1-9 record.