CNMI draws with Mongolia, succumbs to N. Korea

The CNMI U14 National Football Team concluded its participation in the 2012 Boys Asian Football Confederation U14 Festival in Beijing, China with a draw against Mongolia last Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the islanders lost against North Korea in a lopsided score of 9-0.

According to team doctor/secretary Gary Ramsey, the boys' final match against Mongolia was a quite a nail-biter.

Mongolia drew first blood with a goal in the 11th minute, but the CNMI wanted this game badly and it caught a break at the 16th minute when Dakota Hall was given a free kick just in front of the center line.

Ramsey said the odds were too great to attempt a goal kick from that distance and most teams would choose to pass the ball from that position.

However, the team official said Hall made the most picture-perfect kick he's ever seen in a U14 game that sailed effortlessly over the goalie's head and into the left upper corner of the goal, tying the game.

The CNMI added their second goal seven minutes later on a pass from Hall to Jordan Butcher-Wade who dribbled and shot up the middle for the go-ahead point.

Leading at halftime 2-1, the CNMI appeared to have regained its confidence and energy and only needed to hold Mongolia for 30 minutes.

But at the 23rd minute in the second half, Mongolia tied the score on a corner kick. The game moved up and down the field for the next six minutes and with only seconds to go, Mongolia was awarded a penalty kick in the goalie box.

CNMI goalie Julian Pellegrino braced himself for the shot the final shot that would make the difference in a win or a loss.

Ramsey said Mongolia's shot was deflected off the crossbar missing the goal just as the final whistle blew. It was a tense battle to the very end with a tie score of 2-2.

In the game against North Korea, Ramsey said the CNMI seemed to be still smarting from its 0-18 pasting in the hands of Asia Football Confederation powerhouse Japan the day before.

“Immediately we could see that they were nearly as strong as our Japanese rivals yesterday. I think we fell back into a defensive posture and were never able to mount an offense. The final score was DPR (Democratic People's Republic of ) Korea 9, CNMI 0,” he said.

In all, the CNMI won two matches in the football festival (Chinese-Taipei and Macau), while drawing against host China and Mongolia in clearly its best showing in the annual event. It did lose four matches against archrival Guam and AFC powerhouses South Korea, North Korea, and Japan.

The CNMI U14 National Football Team was made up of Hall, Butcher-Wade, William Hinson II, Joel Fruit, and Kennedy Izuka. Completing the team are Carlson Cruzat, Alan Hinson, Christopher Aninzo, Daniel and John Auther, Julian Pellegrino, Won-Young Kim, Jeremie Tanghal, Gideon Borja, John Masga, Louie Calayag, Emmanuel Aniana, Ryu Tanzawa, Moris Villanueva, Joshua Galarion, James Ermitanio, and Wataru Takima. Kiyoshi Sekiguchi coached the team.

Last Sunday night, the team took part in the closing ceremonies where each team presented some short entertainment that they had to prepare themselves.

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