Photo by Fritz Gerald Dalida
MANILA, Philippines—Loyola Meralco kept its mastery of Kaya, 2-0, Saturday night to regain top spot in the United Football League at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Brothers Phil and James Younghusband were on target in the first half and the Sparks notched their fourth win in five matches to move ahead of Kaya and Stallion, which has a game in hand.
The Sparks picked up from where they left off in the stunning victory over Kaya in the UFL Cup semifinals, where they needed to rally from three goals down at halftime.
This time, though, it was Loyola that grabbed the upper hand early with an unmarked James Youngusband heading it home off a corner kick in the 12th minute.
Phil showed good control on the long ball and chipped past Saba Garamoroudi eight minutes before halftime to make it 2-nil.
For all its possession, Kaya struggled to break down a much-improved Loyola backline, which shut out an opponent for the first time this season.
The scoreline actually flattered Kaya, which needed Garamoroudi to be in fine form to stop Mark Hartmann, Byeong Jyeong-yeol and Phil Younghusband on clear-cut chances.
Earlier, Army was held to a second straight draw by Nomads, 1-1, and stayed in fifth spot with five points.
Toullec Loic scored from close range to put Nomads ahead after 11 minutes, but Army equalized through skipper Roel Gener in the 31st minute.
Loic was quickest to react during a mad scramble in the box and he bundled it past Ed Sacapano.
But Nomads groped for form when Phil Connoly left the game because of an injury.
Army capitalized on the counter-attack with Luis Brilliantes finding Gener, whose well-placed header found the top corner.