TanHoldings, MPU keep unbeaten marks

Okadaya goalie Kosuke Kamura drops on the ground as he tries to deflect the ball kicked by TanHoldings Football Club’s Martin Jambor during the first half of their Division A game in the 2018 Spring M-League last Sunday at the Hopwood Middle School Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

MP United Football Club and TanHoldings FC posted similar wins to remain unbeaten in Division A of the 2018 Spring M-League.

MP United played in the curtain-raiser at the Hopwood Middle School Field last Sunday and shut down Paire, 4-0, for a perfect 7-0-0 win-draw-loss record. TanHoldings, on the other hand, improved to a 6-1-0 after blanking Okadaya in the second game, 3-0.

TanHoldings and MP United are battling for the No. 1 spot in the seven-team Division A with two playing weekends left in the regular season. The top finisher after the preliminary matches will draw a bye in the first round of the playoffs, while the No. 2 will face the last placer in a make-or-break game. Other pairings in the playoffs are No. 3 vs 6 and No. 4 vs 5. The Teen Ayuyus (2-3-3), are ranked third after last weekend’s matches and are followed by Paire (2-1-4), Okadaya (2-1-4), Winners & Pacific (0-2-4), and Kanoa FC (0-2-4).

Anthony Fruit towed MP United to its seventh win in as many games after scoring a hat trick with his goals made in succession. He found the back of the net in the 12th, 23th, and 65th minute, while Sunjoon Tenorio closed out for MP United in the 87th.

In TanHoldings’ similar shutout victory, three different players hit the board for the winning squad. Jershwin Angeles opened things up for TanHoldings with his goal in the 12th minute, while Mark Esalan scored two minutes later, and Martin Jambor handed their team its third goal in the 34th.

Meanwhile, the Teen Ayuyus moved up to third place in the team standings after slipping past Winners & Pacific, 3-2.

Taka Borja, Rintaro Miyawaki, and Elijah Villamero delivered the goals for the Teen Ayuyus with Borja making it to the board first with his shot in the 10th minute. Three minutes later Junsik Kim equalized, while his goal in the 30th handed Winners & Pacific a 2-1 lead at the break.

When the game resumed, the Teen Ayuyus forced the second deadlock in the match, thanks to Miyawaki’s conversion in the 53rd minute, while Villamero recorded the go-ahead in the 68th.

DIVISION B
KFAS 5, Sun Palace 4
Korean Football Association on Saipan survived Sun Palace’s second-half uprising to remain undefeated after eight games at the Koblerville Elementary School Field.

KFAS scored all its goals in the first half with Juan Oh registering three and Hwapyoung and Edwin Kim adding one each. Feng Yu had a brace, while Jack Phan and Brian Lubao chipped in one apiece, as Sun Palace drilled all their goals in the second half and fell short of overhauling the deficit.

With its clean 8-0-0 mark, KFAS is likely to top the six-team division and gain an automatic semis berth. The Top 2 teams will receive the outright semis tickets, while the bottom four will battle for the last two slots. Matansa has an inside track for the second semis berth, as it is currently ranked second with its 5-1-2 mark and followed by Sun Palace (3-1-4), CNMI Women’s National Team (3-1-4), Shirley’s FC (3-0-5), and Pacific Islands Club (0-1-7).

Matansa 12, PIC 0
Matansa kept the No. 2 spot in the standings after crushing Pacific Islands Club.

Amzad Khan led Matansa’s demolition of PIC after recording four goals. Rommel Mendoza and Daniel Jay Duenas had three each and Jacob Montes-Sabino and Travis Camacho contributed one apiece.

Shirley’s 5, U16 WNT 1
Shirley’s bagged its third win after outclassing the U16 WNT in the final game in the division last weekend.

Jun Liu made a brace for Shirley’s, while Heng Guo Piao, Yooha Cho, and Jedidah Peteru added one each. the U16 WNT avoided a shutout loss, thanks to Katrina Costales’ goal in the 78th minute.