“Man of the Match” Rintaro Hama of Cebu FC during their PFL match against Mendiola FC 1991. | Photo from Cebu Football Club
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu Football club (CFC) Gentle Giants pulled a lopsided, 6-0, annihilation of Mendiola FC 1991, to start their Philippine Football League (PFL) 2024-2025 Season on Sunday, September 29, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
It was a fitting win for the Gentle Giants who were reeling in their previous 0-6 defeat in the hands of the formidable Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC in their debut in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League barely two weeks ago at the same venue.
In an earlier statement, CFC’s newly-appointed head coach Nihat Tümkaya said they’ve already moved on from the heartbreaking defeat in the hands of the Koreans.
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“Despite the disappointment of losing such a tough match, we quickly recovered and secured a well-deserved victory in our first (PFL) league match. Although our opponent wasn’t on the same level as us, we maintained our discipline for the full 90 minutes. Our players largely executed both the defensive and offensive tactics we asked of them,” the Turkish coach said.
Thus, they put the brunt of their vengeance against the hapless Mendiola FC with Abou Sy scoring the first goal in just 8 minutes into the match.
READ: Cebu FC suffers lopsided beating vs. Jeonbuk FC in AFC Champions League 2 opener
He followed it up with another goal seven minutes later for a brace, easily slotting in a pass from Guytho Marcus Mijland, who closed the first half, 3-0, with his own goal in the 43rd minute on a pass from John Lucero.
Quick Recovery
Coach Tümkaya was pleased with the Gentle Giants’ quick recovery that led to their victory in the PFL and secured them the top spot early in the season with 3 points and a goal difference of 6.
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“It was unfortunate that our first Champions League match was against such a strong team. Additionally, other teams in the Champions League have the advantage of being in the middle of their domestic leagues, which put us at a disadvantage,” he added.
Cebu FC continued the scoring spree with a goal from Rintaro Hama who came off the bench to replace Abou Sy in the second half.
Aside from scoring in the 52nd and 71st minutes, Hama also played a role in Ryoo Togashi’s 87th-minute goal via a timely pass, earning him the Man of the Match honor.
“I wasn’t expecting to be selected, so I was surprised. I think this Man of the Match award is proof that I was able to contribute to the team’s victory in the opening game, so I want to practice more so that I can be selected in the league and ACL2 next game,” Hama said.
The Gentle Giants will not be coming home just yet as they will travel to Malaysia to face Selangor FC in their first away match of the ACL Two on Thursday, October 3, 2024.