CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – James Younghusband scored a hat-trick in powering Smart San Beda FC past Bao Breakers, 6-0, while Pachanga stunned Stallions FC of Barotac Nuevo, 2-0, as the group eliminations of the PFF-Smart Club Championships got under way.
James opened his blitz with a splendid left corner kick in the 34th minute then added two more in the 49th and 52nd minutes in anchoring the charges of former national coach Aris Caslib to their first Group A victory in front of a sizeable weekday crowd at the Don Gregorio Pelaez Memorial Sports Complex here.
Vaugn Melendres headed in the icebreaker in the 24th minute for San Beda while Eliezer Fabroada (41st) and Phil Younghusband (73rd), who arrived from abroad last Monday, were the team’s other scorers.
Despite the lopsided match, Caslib was dissatisfied with the form of his players saying “we still lack cohesion because of the long layoff and I just hope we get better as the tournament goes along.”
The other Group A match pitting Teknika and Laos ended in a riveting 2-all standoff in a physical and bruising encounter that saw Azkal striker Misagh Bahadoran getting a red card in the 56th minute for elbowing a Laos defender who was closely marking him.
Because of the offense, Bahadoran will be suspended for one match and will not be on the bench when Teknika tackles Bao Breakers today.
Nigerians Aye Arye Nil (5th) and Elhabbib Badreldin (10th) scored for Teknika.
while Ange Tressor Guisso (12th) and Papiniano Macayanan (22nd) were Laos’ goal scorers.
Teknika’s Mark Cortes, Badreldin and Kama Valentine and Laos’ Remu Alain-Seryr and William Diaz were slapped yellow cards each attesting to the heated contest between two sides identified with national team manager Dan Palami, who is also the president of the Leyte Football Association.
Over at the Barotac Nuevo pitch in Iloilo, the Pachanga booters silenced the hometown crowd by one of their own provincemates as Shinmar Pelongco, a UST mainstay but who was born in the nearby town of Calinog, scored the first marker that deflected off Stallions’ Jason Cordova and into the net in the second minute.
Alex Obiang of Cameroon had a nifty header in the 77th minute from a right cross by Joshua Fegidero, brother of Pachanga coach Norman Fegidero, for the team’s other goal.
“I am glad we still won despite having only 13 players,” Fegidero said yesterday a day after the match. “Expect us to go all out on the offensive against the Davao booters tomorrow.”
Columbia FC of Davao dumped Baguio United FC, 2-0, in the other Group B match.
Columbia FC’s scorers were Glen Bolaquina and Nur Mentang in the 24th and 45th minutes, respectively.