Loyola, Global in early clash of UFL favorites

MANILA, Philippines – United Football League Cup champion Loyola Meralco tangles with Global Tuesday night in an early clash of title contenders in the UFL first division at Emperador Stadium in Taguig.

The Sparks will be playing their first match since capturing the UFL Cup last month at the expense of Pachanga Diliman, which is actually gunning for a second straight victory against Kaya in the first game at 5:15 p.m.

In a bid to turn its fortunes around after last season’s disappointment, Global hired another Scottish coach, Leigh Manson, to replace Brian Reid at the helm.

Manson, who has over 20 years of coaching experience in Scotland, will have a retooled squad with Iranian Mojtaba Mirmohammadi and Hamed Kakavand joining the side together with Filipino-American rightback Charles Pettys.

The Sparks only made minor changes to their roster from the UFL Cup, letting go of Chad Gould and acquiring Korean midfielder Park Bo-bae from Stallion.

Still, it will be Phil Younghusband who is expected to lead the Sparks, following an impressive UFL Cup campaign that saw him capture the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards as top scorer and most outstanding player.

The Sparks dumped Global, 2-0, in the quarterfinals of the Cup with Younghusband scoring one goal and setting up another.

Pachanga opened its campaign with a 2-0 victory over newly promoted Socceroo, thanks to a brace from Nate Burkey.