CNMI holds ground in HK tourney

The CNMI U14 National Team?s starting 11 pose for group photo before playing against Guam in their last game in the 2014 Girls International Youth Football Invitational Tournament held in Hong Kong last Sunday. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The CNMI U14 National Team stood its ground in last weekend’s Girls International Youth Football Invitational Tournament held in Hong Kong, forcing two draws and losing only one game.
The Commonwealth bets had a 1-1 standout against host Hong Kong and also forced a draw (0-0) against Shenzhen, China, before bowing to Guam, 0-4. The squad was composed of Chevy Kate Alipio, Princess Alcantara, Carla Ballesteros, Guinevere Borja, Angelica Carreon, Jeralyn Castillo, Katrina Costales, Anela Duenas, Berdanette Horey, Samanta Manacop, Diana Maniacop, De’Jana Muna, Angelica and Lyka Sally, Pinyarat Shanweiler, Madeleine Taisacan, Krizel Tuason, and Gillian Villagomez, while Mae Ito and Ross Zapanta were the team manager and delegation head, respectively.

Pam Carhill of Marianas Health Service served as team physiotherapist.

The visiting group drew first blood in its first game against Hong Kong with Borja hitting her target midway in the opening half of the match.

“When the girls found that they were able to build up and penetrate Hong Kong’s defense, they kept their perseverance up.

When Guine (Borja) scored the first goal, it took them awhile to realize that we made the first goal,” Ito said.

“The girls were exhausted from their flight, but were pumped up to play against Hong Kong. They had more connecting passes and more players took shots from afar. Their defense was great and they improved their communication at the pitch,” added Ito, who left with the team on April 17 and dueled Hong Kong the following day.

The former British Crown Colony went on to escape the CNMI’s upset axe as it scored the game-tying goal off a rebound in the second half.

Our goalkeeper (Alipio) did her best to save the goal, even slamming her body on the ground to save it. However, there was a Hong Kong player ready to rebound the ball for a goal. Earlier in the first half, Chevy Kate did a wonderful save on a penalty kick from Hong Kong,” the team manager said.

Up next for Ito’s wards was the tournament favorite China, which nipped Guam, 1-0, in the other game during the opening day.

“I was a bit worried as I found out that Guam lost to China Shenzhen. We concentrated more on defense in this match. We wanted to work on how our defense line would organize against China. Our defense worked well although we had shorter players compared to China Shenzhen. It was difficult for us to shoulder charge against our opponent. Overall, our girls played beyond expectations and had a great result, holding a strong team to a scoreless draw,” Ito said.

For their last game, fatigue and injuries took its toll on the CNMI bets and they went on to absorb their lone loss in the four-team tournament.

“The girls were visibly exhausted from the previous matches. The Guam coach also scouted our team very well and saw our weakness.

Guam kept lobbing shots from the center and it was impossible for our shorter goalie to stop those overhead goals, especially when they were playing on a standard size pitch and goals. Some of our regular players were also injured and Guam capitalized on some of our new and inexperienced players. Despite the loss, the girls kept their heads up and knew they still have work to do,” the team manager said.

The three-day competition in Hong Kong was a good warm-up for the CNMI’s upcoming tournament in Beijing—the AFC U14 Girls Regional Championships.

“The girls showed significant improvement in chemistry in Hong Kong. They are now more motivated to train harder and be a better team as they prepare for the AFC U14 Girls Regional Championships,” Ito said.

The regional tournament will be played from May 30 to June 4 at the China National Football Training Centre with the CNMI going up against Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, and South Korea in Group B qualifier. Group A has Guam, Japan, China, and North Korea and the Top 2 placers in each bracket will advance to the playoffs.