Midgets A vs Claret in Claret field: 8AM (All who will ride the service must be in HEdCen by 7AM)

Opening of RIFA girls

The opening games in RIFA for HEdCen was a nightmare. Despite a good performance by HEdCen Midgets A, they always came short with their attacks and Marist made sure their chances were converted to goals. Lead by Rafanan, Marist attacked the left wing early in the 1st half and delivered a cross that blasted into the goal giving Marist an early lead. HEdCen hit the post 5 times and had several opportunities to score goals including 1 vs 1 situations with the keeper. HEdCen just kept falling short with the finishing. HEdCen played very well. We just lack that killer instinct and I believe that they will get that in the do or die game against Ateneo 2 weeks from now.

In the highschool match, the only advantage HEdCen had was size. It wasn’t enough. Small FEU players overwhelmed us with skill, endurance, passing, and hard defending. They showed how much our highschool lacked in physical conditioning, and team play. Hopefully, we’d do better against the other schools.

In the opening games of RIFA Midgets A, two powerhouse teams will collide: HEdCen vs Marist on August 9, Saturday. Our highschool team will play a new member of the organization but a veteran school in football, Far Eastern University (FEU) also on August 9, 2008.

There will be football training this Saturday, August 2, 7-9AM in HEdCen for the Midgets A team. I encourage the other teams to train as well. Please confirm with your coach if it is possible for Saturday training.

Last Saturday, I was in Cagayan de Oro where I had to meet some people. It was on this day that HEdCen visited Ateneo for a practice game in the college fields. According to Coach Sugar, the game ended in a draw. Ateneo scored the first goal, a grounder that slipped past our goalie’s hands and into the net. Coach Sugar said that despite the goal, HEdCen did not lose its composure and showed maturity in the field dominating the wings which later resulted to a spectacular effort by co-captain of Midgets A James Condat, who weaved through two Ateneans before blasting the ball over the goalie for the equalizer. Ateneo took control of the middle. This gave them opportunities to attack though HEdCen controlled the game overall.

Skie was in bad condition due to stomach problems. Skie couldn’t function well but the outstanding performance of the other HEdCenites made up for that.

Coach Sugar is confident that the team will continue to grow and develop before the start of their first match against neighbor La Salle Antipolo.

Tomorrow’s training will be focused on endurance and player-ball movement in the field.

Coach Sugar arranged for a practice game against Ateneo but only Ateneo’s Midgets A team is ready to play on Saturday. Last time Ateneo and HEdCen met in this age group was in the Midgets B RIFA games where the match ended in 0-0. Skie almost won it for HEdCen when his shot which cruised past the keeper bounced of the post.

HEdCen Midgets A may have the edge in this match if they maintain the momentum they’ve had in the past 2 weeks improving a lot on combination plays along the wings, playing through passes to cutters in the middle, and a never-before-seen teamwork which got them past Marist 3-1 last week. Ateneo players are bigger and if they manage to often get a body on HEdCen players, this will benefit them a lot. HEdCen’s defense will have to hold. Hopefully, HEdCen will maintain its team play and even improve it some more with better timing, better decisions on the field, and more hardwork.

Vinz in HEdCen’s brown uniform was always a cute boy…2004? 2005?

I think this was 2 to 3 years ago in a RIFA Cup festival…