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Saturday, July 29, 2006
Cebu loses team
The Cebuanos were surging in the opening half but still yielded to Negros Occidental Football Association (Nofa), 2-3, in the first game of the Visayas Men's Under-17 Finals at the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit football field yesterday.
Exhaustion got the better of the CebuFA team, which squandered a 2-0 halftime lead. Seeing the withering Cebuanos, Nofa sent its toughest string for the kill.
"The physical conditioning was clearly not there. I told my boys to go on fighting even if they were tired, but they came up short," said the obviously frustrated CebuFA head coach Mario Ceniza.
The opening period was virtually played on Cebu's half of the field. Evan james Mendoza sent the first goal booming in the 11th minute off a rebound from Michael Sharpe.
Four minutes later, Sharpe converted a strong kick from the right flank, scoring Cebu's final goal.
"Before the first half ended, they were already complaining nga kapoy and ganahan na magpa-sub. They were not well-conditioned," Ceniza said.
Cebu's weakness became Nofa's strength.
Getting tired
"I observed that the Cebu team was becoming tired in the second half, so I sent in my key players. We were down by two, but seeing them looking tired, I urged my boys nga makaya pa," Nofa coach Jonathan Manayon said.
Just a few minutes into the final half, Roald Tamsi headed the ball past Cebu goalie Paolo Pascual to slash the lead down to one.
Later, John Carlo Mulliken scored the equalizer in the 67th juncture off a miscommunication between Sharpe and Pascual.
Sharpe headed the ball towards Pascual, who instead of catching it, tapped it towards Mulliken, who struck it towards the goal.
JR Baguio sealed Nofa's win with a goal in the 82nd period.
"Aside from becoming weak, we placed more pressure on the ball, nga wala nila nakaya," Manayon added.
Today, when it faces Iloilo, Nofa's Manayon said that it will spend the first ten minutes studying their opponents before making a game plan. Cebu's next schedule will be on Sunday against Iloilo.
Game time today is set at 2 p.m. still at the Sacred Heart Football Field. (MCB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 29, 2006 issue)
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