TAGUIG CITY (7 April 2019) – In what was the highlight of Philam Life 7s Football League Season 3 Match Day 10, the Delimondo-Laro F.C. pulled off a stunner by knocking off the previously-undefeated Ghana F.C., 5-4 in the on-going men’s division action at the McKinley Hill Stadium.
DLFC was able to buck a slow start in the first half that saw them trail, 1-3. They came out firing in the second half, tallying three straight goals to force the match to a penalty shootout. In the end, a save from keeper Gui Hasegawa and a conversion by Tako Odawara won it for DLFC.
Hasegawa cited the team’s resiliency as the main reason for their victory, but he admitted that the team’s margin of error will get even smaller with the playoffs approaching.
“We decided to go for all or nothing. We got together and settled when we were behind at the end of the first half. Our team always starts behind, and then it’s just [the time] when we start to turn around. Hopefully in the next games, we start much better,” said Hasegawa.
Bohemian Sporting Club was able to annihilate Ceres F.C. in the opener, posting a 6-nil clean sheet. After scoring only one goal in the first half, the team leaned on crisp passing to supercharge their offensive attack in the second half to score five more goals towards the end.
With the statement win, forwards Jona Dorfa and Bads El-Habbib gave out a stern warning to all opponents as they gun for this season’s much-coveted trophy.
“We stuck to the plan and we really kept moving the ball. We pretty much dictated the game as we played the ball around them then play them in their own half,” said Dorfa.
“We have nothing to lose since this is the first time Bohemian S.C. is joining, so other clubs should beware, that trophy is waiting for us,” added El-Habbib.
On the other hand, the H&J All-Stars kept rounding into form, halting the Real Amigos’ winning streak with a convincing 4-1 win. From the get-go, the H&J All-Stars were able to take advantage of Real Amigos’ defensive lapses as they raced to a quick 2-1 lead in the first half and never looked back.
Now holding a three-game winning streak, Coach Branko Safar and forward Bilal Taleb bared that the team’s confidence is peaking, and they plan on keep this momentum going just in time for the playoffs.
“We just played our game and the result is this – now winning three straight games. I’m very happy with the team and our performance as we already managed to go into the knockout stage,” said Safar.
“Whoever it is we’re going to play against, we wish them luck. Whoever’s in the way, we’re going to win against them that’s for sure,” added Taleb.
Coming off a loss last week, Tondo F.C. made up for it by squeaking past Superbad, 3-2. With the game tied for the most part, Tondo F.C. was able to chip in a key goal to secure the win.
Coach Dennis Balbin owes much of their success to their philosophy predicated on maintaining the team’s composure. With this win, Tondo F.C.’s playoff hopes are pretty much alive.
“Nakaka boost ng confidence ‘yung panalo na ‘to. We badly needed this win. Kailangan namin makuha ‘yung COCARECO mentality namin – cool, calm, relaxed, and controlled – para at least hindi kami mag-struggle sa laro. Important match na ito para sa amin para ma-qualify sa next round,” shared Balbin.
By scoring two quick goals right from kick off, the Futbol Funatics were able to churn out a scintillating win against Stallion-Laguna, 6-1.
The Futbol Funatics dominated possession and they never took their foot off the gas pedal, zooming to a 4-0 advantage entering the intermission.
Having multiple players scoring at least one goal, Coach Avery Del Rosario was delighted with his team’s overall performance. The win provided a much-needed cushion for Futbol Funatics as they hang on to the eighth seed in the standings.
“We came in with a higher spirit today. The guys played awesome today and played with heart, skin and everything they got. That’s why we wanted to get a comfortable win from the start since we want to be comfortable heading into next week. We’re hanging from the eighth place the last time I checked, and we wanted to secure the win to at least still be in the ballgame,” explained Del Rosario.
Rounding out the men’s division is the Super Eagles winning against Matu Deportivo, 3-0. Through their consistent pressing, the defending champions were able to score two quick goals in the first half and they added another one in the second half for good measure.
With the loss of Ghana F.C. earlier during the day, the Super Eagles have regained their footing at the top of the standings and Coach Danny Kross couldn’t hide his excitement about it.
“Our motivation was high today. We wanted to score quick early goals, we had an edge and that’s what happened. This game was a little bit tough, but finally, we’re back in the podium and that’s what’s important,” said Kross.
“We’re back at the top. We just want to keep the [top] spot. When Ghana F.C. lost, we knew we had to take advantage. We want to keep this thing going moving forward and we want to win the last few games,” he further shared.
In Match Day 5 of the inaugural Women’s 7s Football League, Payatas F.C. was able to notch its first win of the tournament while Bohemian S.C. and Manila Nomads remained tied atop of the standings after adding victories to their overall records. On the other hand, Stallion-Hiraya F.C. secured another decisive win.
After going winless in their first four tries, Payatas F.C. finally broke through with a victory against Young Pinay, 2-0. Midfielder Ronalyn Lagata and the rest of the crew scored two goals in the first half and relied on their stout defense in this win.
Seeing his wards’ continuous improvement, Coach Roy Moore was elated to see their hard work paid off and they remain optimistic about their chances in making it far in the league.
“The girls have been improving every week. This league is good for development and we’ve seen the improvement of the girls compared to the first game. I’m really proud of how the girls worked in training,” said Moore.
“Sumali kami sa league para ma-improve ‘yung development ng mga players namin. Every week, we’re improving, and everyone did their best,” echoed Lagata.
Bohemian S.C. went back to basics as they’ve turned in another strong performance, winning against Sugod Malaya, 3-1. Their offense was splendid early as they chipped in two quick goals in the first half. Sugod Malaya tried to keep things close by finding the back of the net in the second half, but B.S.C. tallied one more to put the game away for good.
Coach Ava Africa was able to maximize their full roster once again by making numerous substitutions all throughout which enabled them to keep the pressure on against their opponents.
“What clicked for us is that we didn’t change anything from last time. If something is not broken, don’t try to change it. We just kept our intensity up, we rotated a lot, moved the ball a lot and built confidence from our players. With more confidence on the ball, we created a lot of chances out of it,” said Africa.
Meanwhile, Stallion-Hiraya F.C. are now on a two-game winning streak after defeating the gritty Outkast F.C. team, 3-nil. With the game still up for grabs after the first half, it was Gely Tiu and Natasha Alquiros who put on exemplary performances en route to the victory.
Both cited their recent success to the team’s much earlier preparations and off-court bonding activities, which contributed mightily to their chemistry in the field.
“In our game earlier, we scored first but what’s important is that Gely made a penalty save. It was really crucial because it stopped their momentum and built our momentum after that and was able to score two more,” narrated Alquiros.
“We’ve been playing better because we’ve been playing more. We’re able to connect well and had bonding on and off the field; and training prior to this match and that was the key,” said Tiu.
Lastly, the Nomads maintained its winning ways after posting a clean sheet against The Younghusbands Football Academy, 5-0. After a tight first half in which Nomads scored only once, they were able to ramp up their offense at the second half by slotting in four more goals to add on to their total.
For Coach Shane Cosgrove and the rest of the squad, adding another win was the icing to the cake for their splendid campaign so far as they look to make noise come playoff time.
“They were a bit unlucky to just have one goal at halftime. At halftime, we made a couple of changes and told the girls to carry on, and chances came, and we took it away. That was a key win. I think we qualified with that win to the semifinals which was our goal at the start of the tournament. Anything that happens after that is a bonus,” said Cosgrove.
In the 7s Youth League, it was Bohemian S.C. who came out as the biggest winner of the day as their U9 and U13 groups were named as their respective brackets’ best teams. G8 and Sugod Malaya, on the other hand, have turned in good performances as well in the U9 and U13 divisions respectively.
In the U9 division, B.S.C. was able to post dominating wins against Aspire (5-1) and Bannister (3-0). G8 was able to win against Marista (3-1) and Mondo (1-0) as well.
For the U13 division, B.S.C. finished their campaign unscathed by posting clean sheets against Loyola (5-0) and Sugod Malaya (2-0).
Here are the complete results for Match Day 10:
7s Youth League:
U9
Mondo 2, Socceroo 0
Bohemian 5, Aspire 1
G8 3, Marista 1
Bannister 1, Nomads 0
G8 1, Mondo 0
Socceroo 5, Marista 0
Bohemian 3, Bannister 0
Aspire 4, Nomads 0
U13
Sugod Malaya 0, Nomads 0
Nemesis 1, Bannister 0
Xavier 1, Caribbean 0
Bohemian 5, Loyola 0
Bohemian 2, Xavier 1
Sugod Malaya 3, Caribbean 1
Loyola 1, Nemesis 0
Socceroo 1, Nomads 0
Socceroo 4, Xavier 1
Bohemian 2, Sugod Malaya 0
Women’s 7s Football League:
Bohemian S.C. 3, Sugod Malaya 1
Payatas F.C. 2, Young Pinay 0
Stallion-Hiraya F.C. 3, Outkast F.C. 0
Manila Nomads 5, The Younghusband Football Academy 0
Philam Life 7s Football League Men
Bohemian S.C. 6, Ceres F.C. 0
H&J All-Stars 4, Real Amigos 1
Tondo F.C. 3, Superbad 2
Delimondo-Laro F.C. 5, Ghana F.C. 4 (4-4 regulation; 1-0 penalties)
Futbol Funatics 6, Stallions Laguna 1
Super Eagles 3, Matu Deportivo 0
About Philam Life 7s Football League:
The Philam Life 7s Football League is the country’s flagship seven-a-side football competition.
Founded by former long-time Philippine Azkals defender and influencer Anton del Rosario, the league aims to provide a premier competition for footballers around the nation, groom players for possible international competitions, and develop talents from the grassroots level all the way to top-caliber level.
The third season is the biggest so far in 7s FL’s early existence, as the league was able to draw a record 12 teams in the men’s seniors division while introducing the inaugural 7s Youth Football League and Women’s 7s Football League.
The Season 3 Philam Life 7s Football League is presented by Philam Life, Megaworld, The Belle and Dragon, Delimondo, Skull Candy, Mizuno, Jollibee, Bootcamp, and Downy Sports with ESPN 5 and Manila Bulletin as its media partners.
Photo Credits: Philam Life 7’s Football League
