Springdale, DBTC take football crown
SPRINGDALE completed a comeback to defend its secondary crown in the Cebu City Olympics.
Trailing 1-0, Springdale got its equalizer courtesy of Carlos Veloso and the 2007 champion went on to win by shootout.
However, DBTC coach Glen Ramos protested that the goal should have been disallowed as according to them, the ball went out of bounds.
Unfortunately for them, the referee stuck to his decision.
DBTC got its chance in the elementary division as it defeated Springdale to keep the crown.
Trailing 1-0, Springdale got its equalizer courtesy of Carlos Veloso and the 2007 champion went on to win by shootout.
However, DBTC coach Glen Ramos protested that the goal should have been disallowed as according to them, the ball went out of bounds.
Unfortunately for them, the referee stuck to his decision.
DBTC got its chance in the elementary division as it defeated Springdale to keep the crown.
Comments
But like what many feared, the referee ruined what was an exciting, hotly contested match. Both games were played hard, with both teams at the giving and the receiving end. But Luis, the referee, committed the non-call that determined the outcome of the game.
With less than five minutes to go, Springdale had the ball on their left sideline. A tap from DBTC sent the ball flying to the outside where it hit a spectator (the Muslim group had their opening of their Palaro at the same time and were watching the game). The ball bounced back to the field where Springdale conrolled it and attacked the DBTC goal.
Where was Luis ? He was 5 yards away, with an unobstructed view of the play. Where was the ANS linesman ? He was just 20 meters away talking with a spectator.
Mind you, Luis just had himself and his team, City Central, thrown out of the City Olympics for fielding an ineligible player, after DBTC coaches noticed the discrepancy. Porbida, nasakpan mang nanikas, manimawos na lang sa nakasakop.
Defeats such as these are difficult on any player and coach. For a very good game to be decided by the 12th man on the field leaves a bad taste on everyone's mouth. A Springdale parent even went up to coach Ramos and told him they also saw the ball went out of bounds. Yeah, everybody saw the ball out of bounds, including those in the grandstand, but the referee 5 yards away from play saw nothing.
Nevertheless, Springdale is a worthy representative for Cebu City. Godspeed to Mario and his team.
on positive note, the presence of the a big number of spectators from the Muslim community provided a good exposure for the game. also across town,the ECCP Inter-corporate football festival was going on and was well-participated by 18 teams.another welcome development was the presence of huge number of Cebu's pro/am photographers during the games who were vying for the trip-to-Hongkong prize for the best photo. certainly their presence was another exposure for the sport. for most, it was their first time to watch and photograph local football.
A joy to watch during the penalty shootout was the maturity and performance shown by both goalies, Leonard Tan of DBTC and Joshua Cruz of Paref-Springdale. Both players showed great anticipation and poise. At one time, both were behind the count but came up with great saves. During the 2007 U15 POF, the coaching staff could make no mistake who to choose among both, on who should man the goal on any given day.
The Cebu City elementary team of DBTC and Coach Bono will surely be heavily reinforced by Springdale players. To be honest, I was expecting Springdale to win the City Olympics, their players being bigger and technically more efficient. Springdale even prevented DBTC from going upcourt the entire first half of Sunday's game. But the lack of stamina told on them, as DBTC got their second wind in the latter part of the second half.