Inter Godfather’s, Wild Bill’s make semis

Inter Godfather’s and Wild Bill’s clinched the first two semis tickets in the 2011 NMIFA Men’s FA Cup after winning their respective playoff games at the Oleai Sports Complex Field last Sunday.

Inter Godfather’s defeated Tan Holdings FC in the second playoff match, 2-1, while Wild Bill’s downed Korean Football Association on Saipan in the first game, 3-1, to advance to the next round.

The victory over Tan Holdings was the fifth in a row for Inter Godfather’s this fall season. It swept the round-robin elimination, winning over SKY FC, Matansa, MP United B, and KFAS in Pool B. With its 4-0-0 win-loss-draw record, Inter Godfather’s was seeded first in the single-elimination playoffs and was paired against Pool A No. 4 finisher Tan Holdings FC (1-0-3).

In their first meeting this season, Tan Holdings seemed headed for an upset when it took a 1-0 lead in the first half. Ruselle Zapanta scored the lone goal in the first 45 minutes of play. Tan Holdings hung on to the lead early in the second half and almost took a 2-0 advantage, but Jershwin Angeles’ shot was called on off side.

After a long drought, Inter Godfather’s finally got into its senses when Masatoshi Otsuka scored in the 60th minute for the equalizer. Then in the closing minute of the second half, Gilmark Reusora made the game-winning goal.

In the other playoff pairing between Wild Bill’s and KFAS, the former drew goals from three different players to eliminate KFAS.

Detdon Adul broke the ice for Wild Bill’s with his goal in the 25th minute. The score remained at 1-0, for Wild Bill’s until Heo Si Young found the back of the net for KFAS in the 80th minute to force a deadlock.

Seven minutes later, Daniel Wollack broke the tie and Wild Bill’s secured the victory after Jeeraphong Thoensaket finally scored one minute before the game ended.

Will Bill’s was in Pool A and topped the field with a perfect 4-0-0 slate, while KFAS placed fourth in Pool B with its 1-1-2 card.

Meanwhile, two more first-round playoff games will be played this Sunday with the winners joining Wild Bill’s and Inter Godfather’s in the Final Four. In the first match at 12pm, MP United A will take on Matansa, while Paire will face SKY FC in the second game at 3pm.

MP United finished No. 2 in Pool A with its 3-0-1 record, while Matansa was third in Pool B with its 1-1-2 slate. Paire ended up in third place in Pool A with its 2-0-2 card, while SKY FC was runner-up in Pool B with its similar 2-0-2 mark. MP United B completed Pool B and was eliminated early after finishing the round-robin regular season with a 1-0-3 record. Shirley’s FC was booted out in Pool A after being winless in four games.

The semis pairings have yet to be announced, but the two games will be played on Dec. 11, while the championship match is set for Dec. 18.