TanHoldings tops M-League

TanHoldings Football Club nosed out the Teen Ayuyus, 2-1, in the thrilling finale in Division A of the M-League last Saturday at the Hopwood Middle School Field.

Martin Jambor made a game saver, while his brother Lukas drilled the go-ahead goal to hand TanHoldings the division crown and give the club a perfect record this season. Martin’s header three minutes into the injury time tied the match, while Lukas registered the game winner five minutes into the 15-minute overtime.

Earlier in the 86th minute, Sunjoon Tenorio had a great recovery and knocked the ball in to lift the Teen Ayuyus to a 1-0 advantage. Tenorio was at the right place at the right time after teammate Louie Calayag faltered on an attempt in the middle of the box. Calayag found a small opening on TanHoldings’s defense and went for a kick, however, goalkeeper John Bucayo moved in and partially caught the ball before butterfingers had him losing the leather.

The ball then rolled down to Bucayo’s right and fortunately for the Teen Ayuyus, Tenorio was there as he followed Calayag and managed to get the rebound and hit the first goal in the match. Pandemonium broke after Tenorio’s conversion, as he was mobbed by some of his teammates at the sidelines, while others gave him high-fives.

However, the Teen Ayuyus’ celebration turned out to be premature, as TanHoldings was able to force the deadlock, thanks to Martin’s “miracle header,” according to team captain Jershwin Angeles.

Martin’s equalizer came off a cross pass from Ryan Relucio, who received a throw-in from Joshua De Leon. With Deleon doing the throw-in from the right sideline and Relucio and two other TanHoldings players closing in, the Teen Ayuyus’ defense was concentrated on one side, leaving Martin a bit open for the header as even goalie Chris Aninzo was on the opposite corner post.

Martin’s header hit the upper corner of the left post and dropped into the target to make up for his earlier failed free kick just a few minutes after Tenorio’s shot, which nearly took the fight out of the eventual champions.

“Honestly after Sunjoon scored, I accepted to myself that we will lose unless there is a miracle. Some players looked down after Sunjoon‘s goal. But I kept reminding them that they still have time. Actually, there were just to two to three minutes left. When Martin scored, I shouted to my team ‘this game is ours, it is a sign,’” Angeles said.

“Up to this moment, I still can’t believe Martin’s goal. I celebrated late because I was literally shocked because I wasn’t expecting the header will be converted into a goal,” he added.

Martin was also surprised with his header, which is the kind of shot he does not usually take.

“I started playing soccer when I was five and I think I only made five headers before. That one (against Teen Ayuyus) was a header in a difficult angle and I don’t even know if I had a defender on me, as all my focus was to hit the ball,” Martin said.

Though stunned with his goal, Martin said he was positive when he made the attempt.

“You’ve got to believe that it will go in. I know we’re down and the time is ticking, but until the referee blows that whistle, you’ve got to believe you still have a chance,” he said.

After Martin’s goal sent the finals in overtime, Lukas made sure his brother’s heroics won’t go into waste. Lukas went for a cross about six yards from the box and the ball rolled into the deep right corner with Aninzo reaching hard for a save, but failing.

“It was a blessing and perfect timing that my brother was able to hit that goal after my header,” Martin said.

Now ahead, it was TanHoldings’ turn to put pressure on the Teen Ayuyus, who had four chances to score, but Bucayo this time held his ground on defense on two occasions to frustrate their opponents.

The TanHoldings goalie made his first defensive stop at the ninth minute of the extension when he pushed the ball back off a kick from Tenorio. The second one was another attempt from Tenorio with Bucayo catching the ball. Earlier after Lukas’ go-ahead, Dai Podziewski went for the equalizer, but his header was way over the cross bar. Then for their last push, Tenorio let go off a cross, but the shot was wide to the right. A few seconds after Tenorio’s miss, referee Rusellle Zapanta blew the final whistle, signaling TanHoldings to celebrate its title conquest.

“We had this vision of holding that (championship) trophy after the game and it took a lot of teamwork and each player playing their best to win it,” Angeles said, adding that the Jambor siblings clearly made the difference in the closely fought finals.

“I let the Jambor brothers rest in the second half. I don’t usually sub them out but, my thought was to let them rest and bring back their 100% energy when they return. We let the other team got tired first before bringing in the Jambor brothers again. Both goals were very important, Martin made the miracle equalizer and Lukas scored the winning goal,” he said.