The NMI’s Paul Lizama intercepts the possession against Mongolia in an East Asian Football Federation U15 Men’s Championships game on Friday at the Qingdao Baisha Bay Football Centre in Qingdao, China.
The NMI’s Arstin Tagabuel fights for the possession against Macau in an East Asian Football Federation U15 Men’s Championships game on Saturday at the Qingdao Citizen Fitness Center in Qingdao, China.
THE NMI players are off to a rough start in the East Asian Football Federation U15 Men’s Championships, losing to Mongolia and Macau on Friday and Saturday in Qingdao, China.
In their debut match, the NMI found themselves in trouble early in the first half as they gave up three goals.
Mongolia’s first was scored in the very first minute while two more goals were added at the 14th and 17th minute marks for a 3-0 lead by halftime.
Going into the second half, the NMI’s defensive efforts improved but Mongolia eventually broke through and scored a goal at the 86th minute mark to win the game, 4-0.
“The first game is always the hardest,” NMI team manager Mikky Vargas said. “Even more so for this particular group as a majority of them had never played in an international competition. Still, the team pushed through and the bits and pieces of their months of consistent training came into play. The Mongolian players are physically stronger and much faster than us, but our team worked hard collectively to stop their attacks and as the game progressed, Mongolia struggled to hit the back of our net. By the end of the second half, they were only able to score one goal — a testament to how disciplined…our boys played,” Vargas added.
Second loss
On Saturday, the NMI lost to Macau, 2-5.
This time, the NMI started strong with Paul Lizama drawing first blood after five minutes of play. Macau’s Ung U Hin equalized at the 13th mark, but Lizama delivered his second goal at the 28th minute mark to again give the NMI the lead, 2-1.
However, in the second half, Macau returned with a more aggressive approach and a flurry of shots.
Ung U Hin reignited on the offensive end to score two straight goals while teammates Chao Chi Hou, and Ng Kuan Hou notched back-to-back goals to seal the deal 5-2.
“The players are heartbroken,” NMI team manager Vargas said. “But the coaches couldn’t be more proud with how they played better in the second game and were able to score two goals. The last two games (versus South Korea and China) will be tougher, [and we’ve to] play…at a completely different level…with fatigue starting to take its toll on the team, but the boys will fight all the way to the end,” Vargas added.
