The Yellow Submarine win both their games and are confirmed group champions
Returning to TST for a second year, Villarreal had the perfect start to their campaign. The Yellows won both games, against Ten Fifteen FC and West Ham United FC, to confirm their place as Group G winners.
First up was an early start, with a match-up against Dallas-based TenFifteen. Under the morning sun in North Carolina, the Yellow Submarine got off to a perfect start, with three first-half goals.
The first came from Adrià Granell in the sixth minute. Giuseppe Rossi’s free-kick was blocked, and the former Villarreal B man was on hand to control the loose ball from a deflection and power his shot home.
It was 2-0 just four minutes later. A long ball from Sergio Asenjo was flicked on by Colin O’Keefe, and Sergi Añó’s long legs were enough to flick it past the TenFifteen goalkeeper.
Villarreal got their third just before half-time. Óscar Romero curled it into the far post, David Fuster stroked it into the left corner. Giuseppe Rossi slid in on the line. It may or may not have touched the legendary striker, but it didn’t matter. 3-0.
The second half was a sea of TenFifteen possession, but the Yellows were well structured in defence, and Asenjo was in inspired form. There was no way past the legendary goalkeeper.
With the match at 3-0 after 40 minutes, the Target Score was set at 4. Only one more goal for Villarreal would do it, while the Americans needed four.
At 5v5, Moises Hernandez conceded a penalty, which was scored by Dayerson Graterol. At 4v4, TenFifteen soon got another via Thierry Assamoi.
All of a sudden, Villarreal only had a goal advantage. César Arzo called for calm, and knew the Yellows needed to attack. He replaced keeper Estevan Vazquez with an outfield player, Óscar Romero. It was Romero who found Tomás Pina in space, with the midfielder calmly passing it home to get Villarreal’s fourth and the winning goal (4-2), to get the day off to a great start.
Starting line-up: Asenjo; Musacchio, Hernandez; Granell, Fuster, O. Romero; Xisco Nadal
Also played: E. Vazquez, Rossi, Pina, Añó, Morón, C. Vazquez, Chavez, Hinojosa, Murillo, Y. Romero, O’Keefe, Walsh, Warren
And in the afternoon fixture, the Yellows again came out with a great result, beating West Ham United.
The match was a clash of two teams who had won their first game, with the Hammers beating Brown Ballers FC. The first half was high intensity, with the London side having more of the ball, but Villarreal looked solid in defence.
It went into the break goalless. The second half continued the same way as the first, with Asenjo showing why he is already one of the best goalkeepers in the tournament in North Carolina.
Villarreal were rarely troubled, but did not create too much either, with the best chance falling to Tomás Pina, who got onto the end of a Rossi lay-off, but his shot was saved down low by the West Ham goalkeeper.
With the score goalless, the Target Score was set at 1.
It stayed tight and went down to 6×6. Adrià Granell found Sergi Añó straight from a corner, and the defender produced a stunning left-footed volley into the bottom corner to send the Wakemed Soccer Park wild. 0-1 to Villarreal and game over.
With the two wins, Villarreal have now confirmed top spot in Group G and seal their place in the Round of 32, as they try to win the $1m prize.
Next up for the Submarine in the tournament are Brown Ballers FC, who have lost their first two games. Kick-off is at 10:30am EST (4:30pm CEST).
Starting line-up: Asenjo; Musacchio, Hernandez; Granell, O. Romero, Morón; Rossi
Also played: Pina, Añó, Morón, C. Vazquez, Chavez, Hinojosa, Murillo, Y. Romero, O’Keefe, Walsh, Warren
