Green Archers United-White wins Globe Futsal tourney in dramatic fashion

It was a heart-stopping finish worthy of a final match.

Green Archers United Globe – White found themselves down 3-1 with just three minutes and change to play in last Saturday's Globe Futsal (Indoor Soccer) Invitational final against Iran FC in the Circuit events center in Sta. Ana.

Then what transpired will live long in the memory of Archers players and fans.

First Jonjon Melliza pulled a vital goal back for the Archers White team.

Then with under a minute to go, Elvin “Manji” Marcellana unspooled the goal of his life, hammering the ball from the halfline past Iran FC keeper Payam Goodarzi with a ferocious left-footed hoof, for 3-3.

Just when everyone thought that the game would go to a penalty shootout, Chieffy Caligdong fed the ball to Jovanie Simpron, who was near the goal, unmarked by the tiring Iranians.

The Santa Barbaranhun faked once to befuddle Goodarzi, then calmly pocketed the ball into the net for 4-3.

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Bedlam ensued as the Green Archers celebrated as if they had won the World Cup. Moments after the restart, the final whistle sounded, and Green Archers White were champs.

“May pusong manalo talaga yung team” said the White team's talisman, Caligdong.

Iran struck first nine minutes into the game when Mohammad Ghasemi's hard left foot shot squirreled underneath Archers keeper Patrick Deyto. Caligdong then equalized a minute later with a similar play, a shot that was partially blocked by Goodarzi, but not enough to prevent it from creeping into the goal.

In the second half Iran streaked ahead when they caught the Archers defense napping twice and struck with quick goals from Thomas Henry and Ghasemi.

The Persians looked set to win until Archers heroically caught and passed them.

The victory gave the Green Archers White team a handsome addition to their trophy cabinet, as well as a cash prize of P40,000. Iran FC, which won P20,000, bemoaned the absence of players Yves Ashime, Ousseynou Diop, and Angelo Marasigan, who elected to skip the semifinals and finals on Saturday because they wanted to be fresh for the Clear Dream Match later that day. Another vastly experienced Iranian player, Mehdi Soltani, formerly of Pasargad, was also unavailable due to a suspension on cards.

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Green Archers United fielded two teams in the competition, a White Squad and a Green Squad. The Green squad, bannered by Tating Pasilan and Dodz Pasinabo, were surprisingly eliminated in the group stage.

De La Salle University – B won the third place game 6-5 against defending champs Army. Nathan Alquiros scored the bizarre winning goal late in the game when he passed the ball forward off a free kick to teammate Carl Amisola, who dummied the ball (some observers say inadvertently), letting it trickle into the goal past a bewildered Ed Sacapaño. The Azkal keeper, who was not expecting it, was on the other side of the goal.

The La Sallians took home P10,000.

The tournament was played over several weekends in the Circuit, on a carpet with short artificial grass imported from Japan.

Sixteen teams participated in the group stage, with eight making the quarters. Green Archers United- White manhandled TSFC 9-3 in the last eight before overwhelming DLSU-B 7-1 in the semifinals, also held on Saturday.

After the game Deyto and Caligdong played in the Clear Dream Match, with Chieffy playing an influential game for one half for Team James then being replaced in the second. Deyto had a rough night for Team Phil, surrendering four goals in the 4-1 loss.

Futsal is the indoor variant of Football that is recognized by FIFA. Each match is played over two 20-minute halves by teams of five players each. The Futsal ball is smaller than the Size 5 ball used in the outdoor game, and is engineered to bounce less. The minimum size for a top-flight international Futsal match is 20 meters by 40 meters, but many casual games are played on smaller courts.

While the Globe tournament was played on a carpet, usually professional Futsal matches are played on a surface composed of hundreds of smooth plastic tiles that interlock with each other.

While many of the rules are similar to Football, there is no offside rule. The goal frame is much smaller, just two meters high and three meters wide.

Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.