Meralco Manila squeaks past JPV Marikina

BIÑAN, Laguna—James Younghusband scored a trademark header off a corner kick in the second half as Meralco Manila overcame a gritty JPV Marikina side, 1-0, for its third straight win, even as Kaya FC Makati scored a breakthrough victory on Saturday in the Philippines Football League.

Getting on the end of a delivery from younger brother Phil, Younghusband towered above the JPV defenders to beat Nelson Gasic in the 64th minute as the Sparks kept their perfect record with nine points from three matches.

“I think the team showed heart to survive the match against a very strong JPV team,” said Sparks coach Aris Caslib, whose team earlier defeated Stallion (5-1) and Ilocos United (2-1). “This was our toughest game so far.”

Later, Kaya finally grabbed maximum points after dumping Davao Aguilas, 2-0, in a game where both teams finished with only 10 men.

Jordan Mintah and Adam Reed accounted for the two goals for Kaya, which climbed to second behind Meralco with four points from two matches.

Two weeks after battling Ceres Negros to a 1-1 stalemate, Kaya got maximum points this time after scoring twice in the first half where the visitors went down to 10 men after Jason Cordova was sent off for a challenge on Mintah.

But Reed was also given a straight red card in the second half, setting the stage for an anxious finish.