UFL: Global and Loyola Meralco Sparks duel ends in a draw

In their first game after the Holy Week break, Global FC clashed against the Loyola Meralco Sparks in fierce fashion Tuesday night, at the Emperador Stadium. To say that the action was intense from the onset would be an understatement, but when the final whistle blew, neither side was able to get one up on the other, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

Perhaps the only moment of silence in the stadium was when a minute was taken to remember PFF President Mariano Araneta’s mother, who passed away on the evening of April 1.  

First half

Non-stop action from both sides kicked off the first half, and Global drew first blood early, when Patrick Reichelt scored a goal off a header in the 10th minute.

Minutes later, a mistake by Global’s Jerry Barbaso, a miscalculated back pass to keeper Roland Sadia, almost saw an equalizer for the Sparks, as Phil Younghusband chased down the ball before it found Sadia’s gloves. But that may have been the Sparks best bet to score in the first half.  

As the game wore on, Global keeper Sadia’s more theatrical side again reared its head. After one Sparks attack, he took off a glove to show the referee that Phil Younghusband had kicked his hand. And in quite a display, he knelt and then later on sat on the pitch while medics attended to him and the game was stopped for more then a couple of minutes.

However, the Sparks just could not find the back of the net, as Global’s defense held. Barbaso, undoubtedly one of the most hardworking players in the UFL, looked determined not to repeat his earlier mistake and challenged any ball that came his way.

A yellow card was shown to Global’s Izo Elhabib in the third minute of added time, after he excessively argued with referee Montano. It was clear that he had pushed Simon Greatwich while they were jockeying for position, but the usually prolific scorer begged to differ.

A final play in the first half saw a Loyola ball find its way to Phil Younghusband deep in Global territory. Global FC’s defense scrambled to get to it and at the last second it was kicked across the goal and away from Younghusband’s boot by Global’s Valentine Kama.

Second half

Both teams came into the second half running with Global immediately forcing Sparks keeper Ref Cuaresma into a diving save right in the first minute of action.

A clear chance came for the Sparks just ten minutes later, but Phil Younghusband sent the ball skying over the crossbar. Even more chances piled up for the Sparks as Byeol Yong Jeong and Min Ho Park took shots on goal in rapid succession. This applied more and more pressure on Global’s back line, where Jason de Jong now found himself, having moved there from midfield when Yu Hoshide was sent in for Kama at the half.

However Global found themselves some offense and began threatening back, but again and again, the Sparks defense, tenuous at most during some of their past games, held well enough to disable any more goals.

In the 75th minute of action, Referee Montano showed a yellow card each to Global’s Nino Ochoterena and Ange Tressor Guisso, and pointed to the spot for the Sparks. The penalty kick was well-taken by Phil Younghusband and that finally pulled the Sparks even with Global, 1-1 at the 76th minute mark.

Two more yellow cards were shown before the end of the game, one on Marwin Angeles for delaying the game and one on James Younghusband for kicking Hoshide.

The Sparks’ Simon Greatwich had an overall good game, showing flashes of why he was once upon a time called up to the National Squad. One highlight of his game was his impeccably timed slide to kick away a sure shot by Global’s Carlie de Murga.

Global used five substitutions in the game, sending in Marwin and Marvin Angeles, Hoshide, Ochoterena, and at the 85th minute, new acquisition Joshua Beloya was sent in for Guisso. Beloya is lately from Bacolod’s Ceres FC and has also been called up to the Azkals in the past.  

A side story to the game was the announcement of the transfers of Matthew Uy from Global and Angelo Marasigan from Pasargad to the Loyola Meralco Sparks. For Global, it was the first game for Beloya, while Army and Azkals keeper Ed Sacapano sat on the bench. Sacapano is on loan from Army FC. The UFL’s transfer window closed on March 31.

What's next for the teams

Although both teams remain unbeaten, Global remain atop the League standings, as this is their first draw and they have no losses. The Sparks remain second owing to one more draw than Global.

The Sparks tangle with have ever-dangerous Stallion FC as their next assignment, while Global FC will next face Kaya FC who are currently ranked fifth in the League. - AMD, GMA News