UFL: In-control Loyola Meralco Sparks brush aside Pasargad

The Loyola Meralco Sparks continued their winning streak as they hurdled the challenge of PSG (Pasaragad) with goals from Mark Hartmann, Jang Jo Won, and Phil Younghusband giving them a 3-0 victory, Thursday at the Emperador Stadium.   Hartmann opened the scoring, tapping in a parried shot from Jeong Byeong Yeol to put Loyola ahead early on. The Sparks then came out after the break to quickly double the lead, as Jang firing from distance to beat Reza Ataei to his right. Phil Younghusband then put Loyola three goals ahead, blasting in a shot on the counterattack, before the match ended with three goals and three points for the high-scoring Sparks. First half The game started quickly with Reza Ataei diving to his right to stop a long-range effort. Amazingly the keeper didn’t roll on the floor or scream, given the Iranian keeper’s reputation and extremely unsporting behavior previously, and so the game continued. Soon after, Ataei was almost called into action again as Mark Hartmann was found just outside the area and shot first time at goal, just inches wide in the sixth minute, as Loyola started to pass the ball around well and show their intentions immediately. Loyola came close again when Jeong Byeong Yeol shot close to goal, played in from a cross on the left, and the shot beat Ataei, but the covering PSG defense managed to get in the block. Then in the 17th minute, Jeong shot from distance. Reza saved it, but Mark Hartmann was first to the rebound, tapping it past the keeper to put Loyola in front and PSG, without a win so far in the UFL, on the back foot again. PSG almost equalized soon after as they crossed the ball and shot on goal, but Ref Cuaresma tipped it onto the bar in the 21st minute to preserve his team’s lead. As the game settled down, a collision took place between Ataei and Freddy Gonzales, which left the Loyola striker off the pitch for some time. With Gonzales sidelined, PSG almost equalized again in the 42nd minute as they shot from the right, dragging the ball across goal, but Cuaresma again got a fingertip to it to send the ball onto the post, once more preserving Loyola’s lead with the help of the woodwork. Second half Davide Cortina had come on to replace the injured Freddy Gonzales and Loyola came out of the blocks quickly, doubling their lead in the 47th minute, as Jang Jo Won firing in a left-footed shot from just outside the area into the bottom corner. The second score made the game more comfortable for Loyola, as they had another chance on the counterattack. Phil Younghusband fed Matthew Hartmann on the left, his shot blocked well by Jahambakhsh Taher, sliding in to prevent a third goal. But it was just a matter of time before that third goal was earned, and as PSG cleared a corner, Davide Cortina picked up the ball, found Mark Hartmann in the middle, and his first touch was to loop the ball over the PSG backline to find Phil Younghusband on the right. He got the ball under control and lashed it into the top corner in the 55th minute, beating Ataei at his near post with a bullet of a shot. Matthew Hartmann then provided a cross from the left, though it proved too hard for the waiting attackers, before he shot himself when in on goal. Pushed to a tight angle, he blasted the ball at Reza Ataei, who parried well. Loyola continued to dominate as they sent Phil Younghusband through next, though his chipped shot was just too close to the keeper to lob him. Ricardo Padilla came in for ConsthanDivine Harris as PSG tried to solidify their backline, while Jake Morallo came on for Jeong. Yet PSG didn’t offer much of a threat in the second half as going two and then three nil down seemed to drain them of their energy and confidence. With Jang Jo Won replaced by Jayson Cutamora after Ricardo Padilla committed a dangerous foul, earning himself a yellow card, Loyola looked the fresher team and though they didn’t create many clear opportunities in the remaining time, they ran out deserved 3-0 winners to record their fourth straight win. What’s ahead for the teams While PSG didn’t take the result lying down, and they have played Global, Stallions, and Loyola in three of their opening four games, they will certainly be disappointed they haven’t put in the kind of battling performance which saw them reach the Smart National Club Championship Final and finish last season strongly. Now with four losses out of four and only one goal to show for the 360 minutes of play, they have a lot to prove going into the next few games. Their next two games, to be more specific, will be against Nomads and the Green Archers, on March 7 and 16 respectively. It is imperative to their season that they pick up wins, as both those opponents are teams PSG are looking to finish ahead of. The Sparks, meanwhile, continue their impressive start to the season, keeping pace with the Stallions and Global who have also won four out of four. More impressive, perhaps, is that they have only conceded one goal in those four games, the lowest in the league. This is a great improvement for a club whose problem last season was that they leaked too many goals to be a title contender. Their next game is against Kaya on March 5, though that will be their first real test of the season as they look to prove that they have overtaken last season’s runners-up and establish their bonafides for this year, especially given the Stallions’ 2-1 victory over Kaya.  - AMD, GMA News