MANILA, Philippines—Loyola Meralco and Global kept their 1-2 positions with convincing victories Saturday night at the start of the second round of the United Football League at Emperador Stadium in Taguig.
The Sparks, bucking the absence of leading scorer Phil Younghusband, got two goals from former national team standout Freddy Gonzalez in a 3-0 beating of Team Socceroo, before Global shrugged off a flat start to overwhelm Green Archers, 4-0.
The win kept the Sparks on top with 23 points with Global a point back in second spot heading into its crucial clash with another powerhouse, Kaya, on Wednesday
Misagh Bahadoran provided the flash of inspiration in an otherwise drab first half performance by his team with a superb volley off a lovely pass from Mark Hartmann for the first goal in the 31st minute.
Hartmann fired home the second from close range three minutes into the second half, before Milad Behgandom and Jason de Jong completed the rout with late goals as Global bagged maximum points against Socceroo.