Grayson powers Loyola Meralco to third

English striker Brad Grayson sustained his fiery form as Loyola Meralco dumped Stallion, 3-1, Saturday night to vault to third spot in the United Football League at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Clinical in and around the box, Grayson fired two goals as the Sparks rallied from an early deficit to raise their tally to 25 points in 13 games.

Jake Morallo was also on target for the Sparks, scoring just seconds after coming into the match in the 60th minute to make it 3-1.

“We finally got exactly what we deserved after working so hard the past two weeks,” said Loyola coach Simon McMenemy whose team bounced back from a heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Kaya two weeks ago. “When you lose that way, it’s important that we keep working hard and not keep our heads down.”

Stallion seemed poised to repeat its first-round conquest of Loyola as Nathan Alquiros put them ahead in the seventh minute.

Jordan Mintah delivered the cross that rolled between the legs of an out-of-sorts Tomas Trigo before Alquiros bundled the ball home at the far post.

The Sparks pulled level two minutes later with Grayson firing a pin-point header off Phil Younghusband’s free kick. Loyola went ahead after another classy finish by Grayson, who found the top corner with a sublime touch.

Kaya, with Tishan Hanley delivering a hat trick, seized second spot after a 4-1 whipping of Pachanga Diliman in the earlier match.