EAFF - EAST ASIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION -

EAST ASIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION

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MATCH REPORT

Sep 2 sun, 2018 13:00 KICK OFF

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MFF Stadium
ntv (Mongolia)

MATCH REVIEW

The opening game of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2019 Mongolia took place at the MFF Stadium in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on September 2, 2018. This first-round matchup saw Guam top regional rival Northern Mariana Islands 4-0.

Both teams began with an aggressive style of play. The artificial pitch, still wet from the heavy rain that fell throughout the morning, favored a fast-paced game.

The first goal of the day came at the 13th minute, when MENDIOLA Devan controlled a long pass, turned around a defender, and ran into the box. From there he placed a precise shot into the far post that gave Guam the lead.

However, the Northern Marianas Islands’ boys were not passive. They took their first shot of the game at the 17th minute, when a direct free-kick from FRUIT Joel flew over the bar.

Guam’s players showed good organization and excellent individual technique. They worked around Northern Mariana Islands’ intense press defense with quick passes, often aiming to find a way to the goal through vertical through-balls.

In the 23rd minute, CHARGUALAF Mark and LOPEZ Marcus combined for an easy scoring chance, but were denied by a great save from ANINZO Christopher, who was excellent throughout the game.

Guam got their second in the 26th minute when CUNLIFFE Jason dropped the ball to LOPEZ, whose scored with a powerful left diagonal shot from deep within the penalty area.

In the 65th minute, after a few denied attempts, CUNLIFFE managed to slot the ball into the net at close range for Guam’s third.

That third goal came after twenty minutes of the second half, during which Northern Mariana Islands’ defense frustrated their opponents’ attacks. However, their focus wavered and three minutes later, another through ball found LOPEZ, whose run was followed by another goal. Guam pushed ahead to a 4-0 lead, where the score remained until the final whistle.

The game was a convincing display of football for Guam, who are clearly one of the candidates for final victory in this tournament. The Northern Mariana Islands’ skills also showed significant improvement since their last showing in the 2016 tournament.


Guam Manager DODD Karl:
“I want to begin by praising NMI, it was a good match because they have improved a lot lately.

“Regarding us, it was our first match with our new style of play, in which the players need to make a lot of quick decision. It is of course very challenging. I am very happy about the opening 70 minutes, not much with the last 20 minutes, we were a little sloppy in the end, we need to be more consistent.

“But we are getting there, it is all part of the learning process. The players are a good bunch. They can handle anything.”


Northern Mariana Islands Manager MITA Michiteru:
“We are a young team, this kind of International competitions are still challenging for us, but the boys prepared well, and in every match they will show good spirit and do all they can to win. We did lose, but I am very very proud of them. They are building up confidence, they will do better in the next match.

“After a long travel, we had only one day here in Mongolia, so it wasn’t easy to adapt to the cold. Moreover, we come from an island where there are no traffic jams, the environment is very different!”


Guam captain 10 CUNLIFFE Jason:
“Both teams worked hard and play well. Northern Mariana Islands have a young squad, they are trying to bring in new players, as we do. We are both limited in terms of resources, but it was a good game.”


Northern Mariana Islands captain 11. TAKANO Jonathan:
“We are a young team, we need to make more experience. If we look at the result, we lost 4-0, but there also a lot of positives, our boys learned a lot from this match.”


By Cesare Polenghi (twitter)

STATS

GOAL
13' MENDIOLA, DEVAN JAKOB CAMACHO
26' LOPEZ, MARCUS PHILLIP-JOSEPH
65' CUNLIFFE, JASON RYAN
68' LOPEZ, MARCUS PHILLIP-JOSEPH

REPLACEMENT
69' NICKLAW, SHAWN ROBERT > HALEHALE, KYLE KO
72' MENDIOLA, DEVAN JAKOB CAMACHO > NA, EDWARD KYUNG-RIM
75' CHARGUALAF, MARK ANTHONY TORRES > MALCOLM, SHANE ANDRE
58' CAPAYAS, JONATHAN VISTAN > JOYNER, JEHN BERNESER HARADA
72' PODZIEWSKI, DAI TAKEGAMI > SWAIM, NICOLAS BENJAMIN
89' TENORIO, SUNJOON PERRY KIM > BARRY, MICHAEL JOSEPH
BOOKED / SEND OFF
43' ROJAS, JOHN MICHAEL ESCALONA card_y
47' TAKANO, JONATHAN JONES card_y
59' PODZIEWSKI, DAI TAKEGAMI card_y
LINEUPS
GK1JAYE, DALLAS JEFFREYCAPAYAS, JONATHAN VISTAN2MF
DF2LAGUTANG, ISIAH KAZUNORI KIMURAGALARION, HARK JOSHUA IBANEZ3DF
DF3NICKLAW, SHAWN ROBERTDEL ROSARIO, ENRICO DOMINIC TOLENTINO4DF
DF4NICKLAW, TRAVIS JAMESFRUIT, JOEL PIERCE9MF
MF8CHARGUALAF, MARK ANTHONY TORRESTANZAWA, RYU10FW
FW9LOPEZ, MARCUS PHILLIP-JOSEPHTAKANO, JONATHAN JONES11MF
MF10CUNLIFFE, JASON RYANRELUCIO, RYAN CHRISTIAN UVERO14DF
MF15GADIA, DOMINIC TACADINATENORIO, SUNJOON PERRY KIM15FW
MF16MENDIOLA, DEVAN JAKOB CAMACHOPODZIEWSKI, DAI TAKEGAMI16DF
DF17QUITUGUA, RYAN CHRISTOPHERROJAS, JOHN MICHAEL ESCALONA17FW
MF26KATSUMATA, RINANINZO, CHRISTOPHER DELA ROSA23GK
SUBSTITUTES
DF5LEE, NATHANIEL PRESCOTT WEI WAHBUCAYO, JOHN JOSEPH MA-ANO1GK
MF6LEE, JUSTIN DAVID WEI HUNGJOYNER, JEHN BERNESER HARADA5DF
MF11MALCOLM, SHANE ANDREMANABAT, SEBASTIEN MATTHEW PITEG6MF
MF12HALEHALE, KYLE KOFRUIT, ANTHONY GRANT7MF
FW14NA, EDWARD KYUNG-RIMBARRY, MICHAEL JOSEPH8DF
GK18EVANS, SEAN UCHIYAMASWAIM, NICOLAS BENJAMIN13DF
DF19HEALY, SHANE TENORIOAUSTRIA, THAIPHI JAMPADAI19MF
HEAD COACH
KARL DENNIS DODD MITA MICHITERU