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PRESS RELEASE – When the final whistle blew, fans were lined up near the Guam players bench eagerly awaiting to take photos with members of the Matao and for autographs in the East Asian Cup Round 2 souvenir booklets.

The Matao’s Elias Merfalen (20, in white) takes on DPR Korea’s Ri Kwang Hyok in a race to gain possession of the ball during Guam’s match against DPR Korea. (courtesy photo)
To the legion of Hong Kong-based football fans, the tiny island was commended on their heroics against DPR Korea – a team that played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa – even with the final score standing at 5-0 in favor of the North Koreans on day two of the EAFF tournament.
“It’s a totally different Guam team now,” said Matao assistant coach Jimmy Okuhama after the match at Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong. “The difference is that we have hope now – hope to win games. Before, we were just defending. Our goal was to keep the score low. We’d play a 5-4-1 formation then compared to the 4-3-3 we played (Monday).
“I’m proud of the team and how far they’ve come. I’m of course disappointed with the loss, but I’m proud to see the drastic improvement in the team within just one year,” added Okuhama, also a former member of the Guam men’s national team.
The Matao’s Elias Merfalen came close to an early goal for Guam, reacting quickly to a soft back pass from a North Korean defender to keeper Ri Myong Guk.
Though Merfalen successfully intercepted the pass, his shot sailed over the crossbar. A minute later, Merfalen found space through the middle and quickly dished a pass to Ian Adamos on the right side. Adamos opted to send the ball to Ryan Guy on the left side to finish. Though no goal was scored, the consecutive chances for Guam put the North Korean defense on high alert for the remainder of the game.
North Korea managed to score twice before the halftime whistle, first with An Il-bom capitalizing on a loose-ball scramble in front of the goal. Eight minutes later, Ri Myong-jun found the back of the net again for the North Koreans for the 2-0 halftime score.

The Matao’s Christian Schweizer (12, in white) flies down the left flank toward the goal facing defensive pressure from Jon Kwang Ik during Guam’s match against DPR Korea. (courtesy photo)
Ri scored again for DPR Korea in the 59th minute, and teammates Pak Nam-chol and Jong Il-gwan also scored in the 82nd and 86th minute, respectively. One of Guam’s best chances for a goal in the second half came off the foot of Marcus Lopez, who broke away from North Korea’s Kang Kuk Chol to find space for the shot in the 61st minute.
Matao goalkeeper Doug Herrick recorded several key saves, including a handful of North Korean one-on-ones, delighting the spectators in attendance at the stadium. The soft, muddy ground at Mong Kok Stadium proved to be an additional opponent for the Matao as three of Guam’s starters – Merfalen, Guy and Shawn Nicklaw – were unexpectedly substituted early for precautionary measures.
In the day’s other game, Australia edged Hong Kong 1-0. Australia’s Brett Emerton scored the match’s lone goal.
Guam next plays Wednesday against Chinese Taipei at 5:50 p.m. Hong Kong time. Australia takes on DPR Korea in Wednesday’s late game. Wednesday’s matches will be played in the 40,000-seat capacity Hong Kong Stadium.
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GPS Sports Calendar
January 2023
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31st
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16th
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17th
Events for January
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
21st
LIFT HEAVY + LIFT FAST – BFF SERIES
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for January
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for January
24th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for January
25th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for January
26th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for January
27th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
GLORIFIED SPARRING X
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
28th
5K DASH FOR ASH
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for January
29th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 1
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Events for January
30th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for January
31st
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Volleyball
H.S. BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN FULL SWING

Basketball
TAKUMI SIMON MAKING THE BEST OF PRO LIFE

MMA/Boxing
GLORIFIED SPARRING 10 SET FOR FRIDAY NIGHT

Running/Track
’23 TRACK SEASON OPENS

Basketball
WARRIORS COMPLETE TRIPLE CROWN

Basketball
TAKUMI SIMON MAKING THE BEST OF PRO LIFE

Volleyball
H.S. BEACH VOLLEYBALL IN FULL SWING
COMING SOON …
- 3rd Quarter Sports