The first football tournament of the Micronesian Games, held in July and August 1998 in Koror (Palau). The tournament was actually an exhibition/demonstration event only, and did not have official medal status within the Games. The formal name of the football tournament was the 'W.C.T.C. Shell Soccer Exhibition'.
Teams were 9-a-side and the matches were 80 minutes in duration and were played on a pitch which was below regulation size.
Participants:
Northern Marianas
Guam
Palau A
Palau B
Yap
Pohnpei
NB: Yap and Pohnpei are two states in the Federated States of Micronesia (F.S.M.).
Yap played with a real selection from the island, while Pohnpei featured
foreign players with little connection to Pohnpei.
The Yap team may be considered a national selection of the F.S.M., but the first
real internationals of F.S.M. only took place in June 1999 on Guam (0-3 and 1-4
losses against the hosts).
Palau B consisted of Bangladeshi players based on Palau.
The Northern Marianas team also included some foreign players employed on Saipan.
Matches were played at the Emmaus High School Field in Koror.
Group Stage:
27-Jul-98 N.Marianas 8-0 Palau B
27-Jul-98 Palau A 7-1 Yap
27-Jul-98 Guam 16-1 Pohnpei
28-Jul-98 Guam 4-0 Palau B
[Toby Irish 22', Danny Palomo 26', Solo Siewart 29', Matt Naputi 60']
28-Jul-98 N.Marianas 8-0 Yap
28-Jul-98 Palau A 7-1 Pohnpei
30-Jul-98 Guam 2-1 N.Marianas
30-Jul-98 Palau B 8-3 Palau A [unconfirmed]
30-Jul-98 Yap 4-3 Pohnpei [unconfirmed]
31-Jul-98 Guam 15-0 Yap
31-Jul-98 N.Marianas 12-1 Palau A [unconfirmed]
31-Jul-98 Palau B 13-2 Pohnpei [unconfirmed]
1-Aug-98 Guam 15-2 Palau A
1-Aug-98 Palau B 6-3 Yap [unconfirmed]
1-Aug-98 N.Marianas 11-2 Pohnpei [unconfirmed]
Final Table (unconfirmed):
1.Guam 5 5 0 0 52- 4 15
2.Northern Marianas 5 4 0 1 40- 5 12
3.Palau B 5 3 0 2 27-20 9
4.Palau A 5 2 0 3 20-37 6
5.Yap 5 1 0 4 8-39 3
6.Pohnpei 5 0 0 5 9-51 0
Fifth place match
3-Aug-98 Yap drw Pohnpei [5-4 pen]
[Note: it is unclear whether 5-4 was the penalty shootout score only,
or the overall score including the penalties.]
Third place match
3-Aug-98 Palau A 6-3 Palau B
[Stephen Stefano scored 5 goals for Palau A]
Final
3-Aug-98 N.Marianas 3-0 Guam [HT 2-0]
[Charles Kewo 5', Chris Leon Guerrero 15' ??']
Official awards:
Top goal scorer - Matt Naputi (Guam) - 13 goals
Most Valuable Player - Nizamuddin (Palau B)
Northern Marianas squad (incomplete)
Francisco Alvarez (GK), Charles Kewo, Adam Wollmer, Stefan Bossler [captain and coach],
Chris Armstrong, Chris Leon Guerrero
Guam squad
Coach: Jim Santos
Players: Kevin Blundell (GK), Atsushi Yamada, Toby Irish, Dylan Irish, Danny Lee, Solo Siewart,
George Lee, Jack Kido, Kit Yolpan, Matt Naputi (also given as Vince Naputi), John Lee,
Kevin Knaeble, Andre Ursua, Choi Park, Danny Palomo
Many thanks to Rodney Taitague of the Guam Public Library System. Thanks also to Wesley Bogdan, and to the President of the Football Association of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Sources included : the Pacific Daily News, Marianas Variety
Prepared and maintained by Mark Cruickshank, Neil Morrison, and Piet Veroeveren for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Authors: Mark Cruickshank, Neil Morrison,
and Piet Veroeveren
Last updated: 2 Oct 2014
(C) Copyright Mark Cruickshank, Neil Morrison, Piet Veroeveren and RSSSF 2000/14
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the authors. All rights reserved.