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| A Superbad player celebrates after scoring against Matu Deportivo. |
By Dugout Philippines
TAGUIG – Football fans were in for a treat Match Day 8 of the Season 3 Philam Life 7s Football League, 7s Women’s League and 7s Youth League at the McKinley Hill Stadium.
Real Amigos was able to pull off a stunner against defending champions Super Eagles, while Ghana F.C. remains unscathed with their latest win.
H&J All-Stars, Delimondo-Laro, Superbad, and Futbol Funatics have tallied key wins as well as they try to stay afloat in the win-loss column.
In what was without a doubt the highlight of the day, the Real Amigos wielded the upset axe by stunning the previously-undefeated Super Eagles, 3-1.
Newcomer Firat Sen made his presence felt in the ball game, deflecting goal attempts left and right to preserve the victory.
He explained that his familiarity with most of the guys gave him an advantage, despite playing only his first game this season.
“It’s my first game but I’ve been playing with these guys. I know their style of play, because we were already together before. Knowing them makes it easy for me to stop them,” explained Sen.
Coach Lerche Njang was visibly happy post game as it somehow felt like winning a title. However, he continues to remind his wards to always focus at the task hand as they gun for more wins.
“It was [like] the finals for us. It was the best win and it feels good. To win against the defending champions is the best thing that could happen,” beamed Njang.
The H&J All-Stars were able to beat Stallion Laguna in convincing fashion.
After being down 0-2 in the first few minutes, the team was able to tie the score come halftime.
From there, they never looked back as they ended with a 5-2 victory.
Striker Alex Elnar credited their success to their overall positive spirit and to their key adjustments in the second half.
“We’re very positive, everyone was giving their thoughts on how we were doing [at first]. We implemented our adjustments in the second half, and we played really good football. In the second half, we made three goals and overall it was a good game,” said Elnar.
On the other hand, Delimondo-Laro F.C. also got their fifth victory of the season by outlasting a gritty Tondo F.C. squad, 3-1.
Despite the final score, Daniel Peters mentioned that it was closer than the tally suggests, and he further credited the Manila-based squad for their toughness.
“Yeah, they’re definitely a very tough side. The boys, they fight and they’re really tough – it comes out in the way that they play. It’s always fun to play against opponents like that when you’re in for a really tough game,” bared Peters.
Superbad notched its second win in a row after defeating Matu Deportivo, 4-1.
Dealing with missing some key personnel particularly on defense, Iggy Halili stepped up to be the team’s goalkeeper, making the win much more satisfying for him and the club.
He also mentioned that the team’s chemistry has been improving day-by-day, which bodes well for the squad.
“We were actually worried before the start of the game because we were only six players 20 minutes before kick-off. I had to step up for the team and player as the keeper. Luckily, it didn’t show in the performance of the boys for today. Eight weeks in, the chemistry is getting there. We’ve been through the toughest teams and we’re trying to capitalize the next few weeks to try climb up to the standings,” said Halili.
Meanwhile, the Futbol Funatics made up for their tough loss last week by beating Ceres-Negros Youth F.C., 2-1. Abel Gboko has been the team’s offensive linchpin, chipping in one goal and one assist.
Playing with a sense of urgency, the Futbol Funatics were able to come out with great energy leading to the victory.
With this win, they hope to carry over the momentum in the regular season’s final three games.
“Coach told us to work hard and our heads were like, ‘we need to win the game. We really had to win and to push really hard for this game,” said Gboko.
“I think may three games pa kaming natira. Work hard lang talaga sa three games na ‘yun. Fighting spirit with the team – win or lose, we are a family here,” shared forward Vincent Aceberos.
Rounding out the match day is the tight contest between Ghana F.C. and Bohemian S.C., where the former eked out a crucial 2-1 win.
The victory propelled Ghana F.C. at the top standings as they’ve already won eight straight fixtures with no losses.
Furthermore, Coach Ayi Bimbo was wary about complacency, and that he would rather focus on the team’s overall improvement rather than the outside noise.
“If you would remember, I told you that we’re not thinking about any of those teams. They are none of our business and we’re just playing and being ourselves. This is a comfortable lead for us. We’re taking over and we plan on continuing to sit at the top,” bared Bimbo.
In the 7s Women’s Football League, The Younghusband Football Academy, Nomads, Bohemian S.C., and Sugod Malaya all ended the night with 2-1 records, thanks to their respective victories.
In a game that went the distance, it was the Younghusband Football Academy that came out on top, 5-4 (via penalty).
Head coach Roberto Caboral was highly complimentary to his girls for playing the right way, which is something he has emphasized to them ever since.
“Di namin na-expect na mananalo kami pero sabi ko sa mga players to give their best para makuha natin itong game. Mag-enjoy sila, pero magfocus din sila sa game,” said Coach Roberto Caboral.
Nomads F.C. was able to turn in a clean sheet by defeating Payatas F.C., 3-0.
Coach Shane Cosgrove was more than pleased to see the progress his wards have shown in the past few weeks and they plan to carry the momentum moving forward.
“This win is good for the girls’ confidence. The players who came in today did a really good job. We didn’t want to concede today, and we defended better this week than last week,” mentioned Cosgrove.
“In Nomads, we really have good chemistry because we’ve been playing for long. Even if we have new players, individually, I think we’re all really good,” added forward Andie Tiongson.
In the third fixture, the Bohemian S.C. was able to win over Payatas F.C., 3-1.
Cathy Aihunu, who was the team’s hero last game, turned in another great offensive performance - chipping in two goals.
This proved to be a step in the right direction for Bohemian and being consistent with their efforts will be vital to their success.
“We just have to keep winning and we really have to step our game up and make sure that from here on out, all the games we just win,” said midfielder Tiffany Faulkner.
Sugod Malaya was able to shock Young Pinay by tallying a clean sheet, 2-0.
Sofia Margarse’s brace proved to be the difference in the ball game, and coach Jhoseryll Sajonia was satisfied with the way they all played, especially since they lost the last time around.
“Galing kami sa talo last week kaya pinaghandaan talaga namin ito. Nakita namin sa standings na ‘yung team na ito, sila ‘yung Top 1 kaya pinaghandaan namin talaga sila,” said Sajonia.
In the 7s Youth League, Bohemian S.C. and Nomads have notched great wins in various age brackets.
In the U9 division, Bohemian S.C. have posted clean sheets against Aspire (4-0) and Marista (8-0).
Their U13 counterparts have won against Socceroo (1-0) as well.
Nomads also joined in the fray by winning over G8 (4-0), and Socceroo (2-0).
Meanwhile, Caribbean won over Nemesis (1-0), while Sugod Malaya and Xavier both ended their day with a win and a draw.
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