Close games in Week 2 of M-League

A Thundercats FC player sees an opening on the CNMI Women?s National Team?s defense during the second half of their game in Division 2 of the M-League last Sunday at the Oleai Sports Complex. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

Three of the four winning teams in Week 2 of the spring season of the 2014 M-League labored for victories last Sunday at the Oleai Sports Complex.

In the curtain raiser, Shirley’s FC pulled off a 3-2 triumph over Sun Palace in a Division 1 match, thwarting the latter’s rally in the second half.

The second frame started with Shirley’s ahead at 2-0, off Roding Domingo’s goal in the 39th minute and Fradel Sedillo’s shot one minute before the first half wrapped up. Jack Phan made it a 3-0 advantage for Shirley’s FC when he lit up the scoreboard in the 55th. However, Sun Palace mounted a comeback past the halfway mark of the second half, as Hoin Ryu and Qing Long Yu scored before Shirley’s FC made some defensive stops to keep the lead and the win.

In a Division 1 game, Inter Godfather’s defense shut out MP United and lifted the former to a 1-0 victory.
Both teams failed to find the back of the net in the first half and they continued their search for the elusive goal in the first several minutes of the second period before Peter Loken finally scored off a penalty kick in the 76th minute.

The victory was Inter Godfather’s first this season, as it settled for a 1-1 draw against Paire during the league opener. MP United played its first game in the spring season.

Tan Holdings FC competed in its second game this season and notched back-to-back wins after outclassing the debuting Korean Football Association on Saipan.

Tan Holdings FC, which topped Kanoa FC in its first game, 5-2, drew twin goals from Ruselle Zapanta and one each from Jershwin Angeles and Jonathan Takano to beat KFAS.

Angeles broke the ice with his goal in the ninth minute, but KFAS evened out the count seven minutes later, courtesy of Jun Woo Lee’s goal. The game remained in a deadlock after the first 45 minutes of play.

KFAS then took the lead right into the first minute of the second half with Brian Lee hitting his target, but Tan Holdings FC quickly tied the match with Takano recording his first goal in the league at the 47th minute.

Tan Holdings and KFAS breathed in each other’s neck and the next 10 minutes and change before Zapanta hit the go-ahead goal in the 60th and followed it up with the insurance goal 17 minutes later.

Meanwhile, in the all-Division 2 game last Sunday, fall champion Thundercats topped the CNMI Women’s National Team, 3-1.

Three different players contributed in the Thundercats’ victory, their second this season. Thomas Lee put the Thundercats in the board in the first half, while Don Cabrera and Makano Gramlich added one goal apiece in the second. The Women’s National Team, which came from a 2-0 victory over Sun Palace in Week 2, failed to make it two in a row, as only Jeralyn Castillo scored for the squad, 11 minutes before the game ended.

The win over the CNMI Women’s National Team allowed the Thundercats to bounce back from a 2-3 loss to Shirley’s FC last Feb. 12.