Singapore Cup: Loyola held scoreless in controversial semis loss

The Loyola Meralco Sparks started the first leg of their semifinals campaign at the 2012 RHB Singapore Cup with a defeat at the hands of the Tampines Rovers, 2-0, on Thursday at the Clementi Stadium in Singapore. Chad Gould's second half goal was disallowed by notorious referee Sukhbir Singh, after Kim Woo Chul's free kick came before the whistle. Kim's disagreement to Singh's call yielded a second yellow card for the Korean who was sent off at the 58 minute mark. The home team was agressive from the get-go, keeping Roxy Dorlas and Anto Gonzales busy along with keeper Ref Cuaresma. The first goal of the match game at the 29th minute, after Sead Hadzibulic fed 42-year-old Aleksandar Duric, who lobbed the ball over Loyola keeper Ref Cuaresma. Loyola was given a quick opportunity to respond through a free kick at the 35th minute, but Hadzibulic cleared Simon Greatwich's attempt. Sensing the immediate need for additional offense, Loyola head coach Kim Chul-Su sent in fever-stricken James Younghusband at the 37th minute to replace Greatwich. The Singaporeans continued to pressure Loyola's defense, but the Filipino squad had one last push before the halftime whistle. Phil Younghusband locked in for an attempt, but was well-challenged by Benoit Croissant. Referee Sukhbir Singh did not blow his whilstle, though, as the home team kept a 1-0 lead heading to the break. Come the second half, the Rovers found Ahmad Latiff for an early goal at the 49th minute. Down 2-nil, James started to make his presence felt in the 55th minute with a header that went wide. In the 57th minute, Jufri Taha yielded a free kick to Loyola's Kim Woo Chul. The Korean sailed the ball towards Chad Gould who sent it to the back of the net with a header for Loyola's first goal of the match. Referee Sukhbir Singh, however, disallowed the goal, after which the visiting players surrounded him in disagreement. The goal didn't count for the Sparks as Kim took the shot before the referee's whistle. In the confusion following the free kick, Kim was slapped with his second yellow for dissent, forcing Loyola to continue the match with one man down. The Younghusband brothers each had their moments later in the game, but nothing concrete materialized until the final whistle blew to give the Rovers a 2-0 victory at home. Loyola is the only foreign team standing after Japanese selection Albirex Niigata and Myanmar's Kanbawza were booted out in the quarterfinals. The Sparks reached the semifinals after defeating local club Geylang United 2-1 in the knockout round. In the quarterfinals, the UFL squad defeated Myanmar's Kanbawza in the first leg, 3-1, before settling for a draw in the second leg, 2-2, for a 5-3 aggregate score. The second leg of the semifinals will be on Sunday, 7:45pm, at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore. - AMD, GMA News