CNMI bows to Hong Kong, Guam

CNMI U13 National Team lost its back-to-back games in the East Asian Football Federation Boys U13 Festival 2015 yesterday at the Leo Palace Resort Field in Guam.

The CNMI’s John Michael Rojas, right, stays close on defense against Hong Kong’s Lau Kwan Ching, while teammate Thaiphi Austria gets ready to provide help during the first half of their game in the East Asian Football Federation Boys U13 Festival 2015 yesterday at the Leo Palace Resort Field in Guam. (Eric Abragan)

The Teen Ayuyus first bowed to Hong Kong, 0-8, before dropping their second match of the day against Guam, 0-5. The Commonwealth bets are still winless in the festival as they also fell to Chinese-Taipei last Sunday. The Jershwin Angeles-coached team will close out its assignment in the youth event today when it collides against North Korea.

Despite their successive losses, Angeles commended his wards for showing some improvement in yesterday’s pair of matches.

“This was the best game (against Guam) so far for the boys. Though we gave up five goals, the boys played with their heart throughout the game. The 4-4-2 system allows the boys to balance defense and attacking—this is the system they’ve been playing since our first game,” Angeles said in a message sent to Saipan Tribune last night.

“I saw some improvements. The boys tried to control the ball first rather than just kicking it forward, they got faster and more aggressive. More shots were taken and their knowledge on football widened,” the coach added.

With the Teen Ayuyus also focusing on offense, they managed to make a couple of attempts against Guam. Eddie Cho tried first to put the CNMI on the board with his attempt in the 42nd minute, while Mark Esalan and Lolobeyong Benito also had opportunities to score in the second half, but they just couldn’t complete the play.

Guam, on the other hand, lit up the board early, scoring its first goal in the fifth minute, according to the information CNMI team manager Eric Abragan sent to Saipan Tribune. The CNMI’s defense then tightened up for nearly 20 minutes before Guam got two more goals in the closing part of the first half. The host added two more in the second frame, getting its fourth in the 43rd and fifth in the final minute of the match.

Meanwhile, against Hong Kong, the Teen Ayuyus gave up four goals in each half, but Angeles took note of his squad’s good start.

“The team played well especially in the first half. Our tactic was to high pressure the opponents, especially on our attacking third which was successful and gave Hong Kong a hard time. HK played almost the same level as Chinese-Taipei. In the second half, I substituted the starters to give them more rest and time to recover for the Guam game. Today was so hot and that gave the boys a hard time,” Angeles said.

The Teen Ayuyus had goalie Floyd Muna, Kirt Andon, Thaiphi Austria, Kirro Batino, Eun Syu Hahn, Sebastien Manabat, Ian Karl Maniago, John Michael Rojas, Benito, Cho, and Esalan as starters against Hong Kong, while Justin Achas, Razeff Altamirano, Angelo Bergancia, Taka Borja, Kaden Church, Jhoey Noble, and goalie Jason Quimzon were the substitutes. Versus Guam, Borja and Church were on the starting unit, joining Andon, Austria, Benito, Cho, Hahn, Manabat, Maniago, Muna, and Rojas.

“We are proud of the boys. They gave everything they got. We always tell the players we look into their performance first rather than results first. We are ready for DPR Korea game tomorrow (today),” said Angeles.