CNMI holds Macau to a draw

The CNMI Women’s National Team’s starters pose for a group photo before their game against Mongolia in the EAFF E-1 Football Championships 2019 Round 1 at the Mongolian Football Federation Stadium in Ulan Bator last Monday. (Mongolia Football Federation)

The CNMI settled for a scoreless draw against Macau in the women’s division, while Mongolia dominated the Blue Ayuyus, 9-0, in the men’s match in the EAFF E-1 Football Championships 2019 Round 1.

The CNMI-Macau game yesterday was played at the soggy Mongolian Football Federation Stadium in Ulan Bator, as it rained before and at the entire duration of the match, making it extra difficult for both teams to find their targets.

The weather was so tough that the Commonwealth’s female players had to wear gloves and warmers in the game. Despite the unforgiving weather condition, the Luen Khen Koo-coached team was persistent on offense as it had majority of possessions. In the second half alone, the CNMI bets attempted nearly 20 shots, making Macau goalkeeper Ka Ho so busy. On several occasions, Ho had to take a breather after each save and was even attended by their team physiotherapist a couple of times as she grimaced in pain and exhaustion.

Gianna Griffin, who scored the CNMI’s first goal in the tournament, led the squad’s attack, while Guine Borja, Gillian Villagomez, Janelle Chojnacki, Jerlyn Castillo, and Therize Millare also made several attempts. The crew had a lot of short shots and some players lost their footing and eventually the ball, no thanks to the soaked pitch. The rain continued even at the extra four minute of the match, leaving the CNMI and Macau without a win in the competition with one more game left in the qualifier. The Commonwealth will play Guam tomorrow at 1pm (3pm Saipan time), while Macau will take on Mongolia at 5pm. Mongolia and Guam collided in the second game last night and results of the match will be a crucial factor in the deciding the winner of the completion.

Meanwhile, the Blue Ayuyus also played under a punishing weather condition, as a hailstorm came midway in the second half. Big chunks of ice covered the pitch, forcing organizers to halt the match for 10 minutes with Mongolia pulling away, 5-0. The host kept going at the resumption of the one-sided game to hand the CNMI its second loss.

Despite another defeat, Blue Ayuyus coach Michiteru Mita was happy with the team’s defense in the second half.

“It was a tough game, Mongolia players were both quick and strong. After we conceded the first goal my boys were a bit confused. We prepared well, but Mongolia was even better than we expected. In the second half, we have improved our defending, we were better organized and our goalkeeper (Chris Aninzo) did great. Without him, we could have lost by more goals,” Mita was quoted as saying in the East Asian Football Federation website.

As for Mongolia coach Hans Michael Weis, he said they had a great first half and slowed down a bit in the second because they want to reserve the players’ energy.

“We decided to make changes because we wanted them to rest and be fit for the match on Thursday (today). The Guam team is a good team, we can’t afford to lose against them. We want to win that game to make our fans happy. I don’t think our players will lose focus. We have gone through one and a half year of training and we have experienced also some severe losses. Now it is getting better, the players are more confident and while they are not yet at the top where I want them to be, you can see that they know what they are doing,” Weis said at the post-game press conference.

“We need to bring it to the next level in order to compete with Hong Kong, North Korea, and Chinese Taipei in the future,” he added.