Futbol Fanatics celebrate after a goal in their hotly-contested showdown against Bohemian. |
By Dugout Philippines
TAGUIG – It was another action-packed night of football in Match Day 5 of the Philam Life 7s Football League on Sunday at the McKinley Hill Stadium.
Superbad barged into the win column after five tries, while Ghana FC and Super Eagles remain undefeated in Season 3.
On the other hand, Delimondo-Laro, Futbol Funatics, and Real Amigos were able to come out victorious against their respective counterparts.
The Super Eagles added Ceres to their growing list of victims as they walloped them, 5-0.
Emmanuel Slyvernus notched two goals while Charles Ujam, Godwin Odogu, and Olisa Anene tallied one each.
Despite their current winning streak, head coach Danny Kross continuously reminded his players to ward off complacency as the season progresses.
“Being undefeated right now is a good thing but it’s not the important thing for us. What matters most for us is that we got the three points tonight, we got the job done and we will look forward to the next game, come back strong and see if we can gather another three points,” said Kross.
Slyvernus echoed his mentor’s statements and he vowed that the team will keep on working hard as they try to defend their crown.
“It has been a good game. We put into work what we have trained for. They gave us a good fight, but we were the better team,” said Slyvernus.
Laro FC returned to its winning ways as they have defeated Matu Deportivo, 4-1.
The Delimondo-backed squad pushed the pace early as they quickly built a 3-0 lead in the first half and never looked back.
Forward Aly Borromeo credited his team’s success to their familiarity with some of Matu Deportivo’s players, given that they’ve played against each other before.
“I think it was good that we started out the game right, we knew what they were going to do in the game because we are actually familiar with a lot of their players so we kind of knew what kind of tactics we bring in the game. We wanted to score right away and build up that lead so that they will have a hard time coming back,” shared Borromeo.
Real Amigos was able to eke out a win over the gritty Tondo FC by turning in a clean sheet, 1-0.
Defense was the name of the game as both teams were having a hard time scoring goals, especially in the first half.
However, Emanuel Donkor was able to chip in the winning goal down the stretch.
Despite the unexpected low-scoring affair, coach Nerche Ljang was relieved about the team’s victory and he credited Tondo FC for putting up a fight all throughout.
“It’s not really what I expected because I was thinking that we would score more goals against Tondo but you know football, the unexpected always happens,” said Ljang.
After gaining momentum with a win last week, the Futbol Funatics were able to extend their winning streak to two by edging out Bohemian Sporting Club, 5-4.
The Avery Del Rosario-mentored squad jumped out to a big lead early in the first half. However, the Bohemian Sporting Club almost pulled off a furious comeback, only to fall short in the end.
More than the win, it served as a stern reminder for the Futbol Funatics to not let the guard down and that they have to remain their focus to the task at hand.
“Things like that happens in the game, it gets a little physical, emotions are flying but it’s part of the game. But what happens in the game, we leave it, we take home a win or a loss and we move on. That’s how we do it,” explained Del Rosario.
With the score tied up at 2-2 at the end of regulation, an extra five minutes were given to Ghana FC and H&J All Stars in a game that went the distance.
After numerous back-and-forths from both teams, it was Ghana FC who emerged victorious as they extended their winning streak to five.
Ghana FC’s confidence never wavered as they bared that they needed to flip a switch late to pull away.
Through their fast-paced offense and stifling defense, they were able to put in the marginal goal that iced the game.
“We were confident on this game, we underestimated our opponents tonight and it resulted to us trailing by a goal at the start of the game. During the break before the start of the extra time, I told the boys that we have to press them, we have to attack and we have to keep on pushing them, that’s how we got the golden goal,” said the Ghana FC coach.
On the other side of the pitch, Superbad surprised a younger Stallion Laguna team with an upset as they recorded a 4-1 win.
It was scoring the first goal of the game that proved to be the key moment for Superbad as they walked away with a win after five games in the league.
For Superbad’s playing coach Iggy Halili, nothing is sweeter than their first victory.
“It was a big relief to finally get our first win of the season. Finally. It was the first that we went ahead in our game in the league this season, scoring first gave us a confidence boost for the remaining games. After this game, we will try to win more games. We have had a different first few games with the champions and their runner-ups, hopefully, the next few games from here on will be better for us,” beamed Halili.
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