OFFICIALLY listed as a goalkeeper in the Negros Occidental Football Association (Nofa) lineup, Ryan Monares showed he has more than shot-stopping skills as he towed the visitors of a jittery Central Visayas Football Association (CVFA), 1-0, in their opening game of the Boys 15 Visayas Elimination at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) on June 29, 2019.
The wily forward took advantage of a defensive miscue in the second minute to send the ball past a hapless Jake Gomez for the lone goal of the match.
“He is our utility player. He can be keeper, a forward and even a defender,” said Nofa coach Ronald Allan Treyes after their maiden win in the tournament organized by the Philippine Football Federation.
CVFA, which failed to make its forays into the final third of Nofa into scoring chances, will have a week to learn from its mistakes as it visits Panay FA in Iloilo on July 6.
Nofa will host the Negros Oriental Football Association (Nosirfa) on the same day.
Against CVFA, Nofa could have doubled the lead early in the second half as CVFA struggled to plug its defensive holes, allowing Dominic Dreyfus to attack at the left and Rohderick Rodriguez to exploit the left flank.
CVFA only got to harrass the Nofa defense after John Rondrique got in for Simon del Campo. Rondrique won the ball off a mistimed defender header and found Carsten Pumareja open in the box. However, Nofa cleared it for a corner before CVFA could fire a shot.
A few minutes later, Reiji Tabuelog spent too long a time with the ball and lost possession inside the box, while Rondrique also got into the Nofa box but couldn’t fire quickly enough, leading coach Martin Ferrer to shake his head in frustration in the sideline.
The visitors too failed to take advantage of a defensive gift after a hurried clearance by the host off a backpass landed straight to Liguaton, but the resulting shot merely hit the side-netting.
Cebu finally managed to connect some passes midway into the second half, but the forwards couldn’t get past the keeper, earning only a couple of corner kicks.
It was the host that had the best final chance of the match, with Monares leading a counter attack only to be stopped by Gomez. Rommel Torres got the rebound but his aim failed him as he hit wide. (ML)