MPU, Tan Holdings-1 blank foes

MP United FC’s Alex Park, right, breaks away from the defense of a Paire player, center, during the second half of their boys U15 division game in the NMIFA youth league last Friday night at the Oleai Sports Complex Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

MP United Football Club and Tan Holdings-1 shut down their respective foes in the boys U15 division of the 2015 NMIFA Youth Spring League over the weekend at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

In last Friday’s second game, MP United defeated Paire, 2-0, while in the lone match last Saturday, Tan Holdings-1 showed no love lost to sister team Tan Holdings-2, 13-0. In the other boys U15 tiff, Matansa and Kanoa engaged in a draw, 4-4.

With Tan Holdings-1 and MP United winning, they kept the Top 2 spots in the team standings with the former holding an 8-0-0 win-draw-loss record and the latter earning a 7-0-1 card. Matansa is in third place with its 3-1-4 slate, followed by Paire (3-0-4), Kanoa (0-2-5), and Tan Holdings-2 (0-1-7).

Alex Park and Michael Lee scored the two goals in MP United’s victory over Paire. Park drew first blood his with his shot in the 25th minute, while Lee’s goal came in the 75th.

In Tan Holdings-1’s win, Mark Esalan stood at the forefront of the squad’s demolition of Tan Holdings-2, hitting six goals. Anthony Fruit, Jherico Tiamzon, and Thaiphi Austria chipped in two goals each, while Emmanuel Aniana added one.

Fruit put Tan Holdings-1 on the board with his goal in the eight minute, while Tiamzon had his first five minutes later. The division leader kept going with Esalan knocking in back-to-back goals, while Austria and Aniana tallied the last two to break the game wide open. Tan Holdings-1 remained on target in the second half, while Tan Holdings-2 failed to answer back.

In the Matansa-Kanoa standoff, the former forced the draw as got a goal from Joshua De Leon in the 76th minute or three minutes after Merrick Toves’ shot put Kanoa on top. David Mafnas nailed the two other goals for Matansa, while Jelhere Yobech contributed one. Brian Lubao, Andruw Omelau, and Lukesh Lama were the other scorers for Kanoa.

Matansa scored first off Mafnas’s conversion in the 28th minute and the team went on to take a 2-0 halftime lead after Yobech found the back of the net in the 39th. Matansa made it a 3-0 advantage off another Mafnas goal right in the opening minutes of the second half, while Kanoa finally lit up the board when Lubao scored one minute later. Kanoa continued its recovery, thanks to Omelau and Lama’s goals in the 53rd and 55th minute, respectively, and the team grabbed the lead, courtesy of Toves’ shot in the 73rd before De Leon tied the count anew.

Meanwhile, MP United and Tan Holdings were also victorious in the boys U18 division games last Saturday.

Over at the Hopwood Junior High School Field, MP United routed Matansa, 5-0, to improve to a 4-0-1 record and retain the No 2 spot in the team standings.

Greg Sablan registered the first two goals for MP United, which also drew one goal apiece from Jehn Joyner, Keannu Diaz, and Kyle Chung. Sablan averted a scoreless first half when he tallied his first goal four minutes before the opening frame wrapped up. His second goal came in the 69th minute, while Joyner posted his lone shot in the 75th. Five minutes later, it was Diaz’s turn to lit up the board, while Chung closed out for MP United in the 88th.

In the other boys U18 game played at the Oleai pitch, Sean Perez gained four goals to lift Tan Holdings to a 9-0 win over Paire.

Tan Holdings kept the top spot in the four-team field with its flawless 6-0-0 record. Cosmos Lim added two goals, while Joel Fruit, Mareko Tekopua, and Se Young Kim had one each in Tan Holdings’ lopsided victory.