Phil, James carry Sparks to win over Army eleven

MANILA, Philippines - Loyola Meralco Sparks leaned on the clutch play of brothers James and Phil Younghusband as it turned back an upset-conscious Philippine Army Fritz & Macziol, 2-1, to seize the solo lead in Division One of the United Football League at the Nomads field in Parañaque.

With the game tied at 1-1 James broke the deadlock in the 79th minute goal when he sank a shot drove in by brother Phil.

That goal, which caught Army goalie Eduard Sacapano flat-footed, proved enough to seal the Sparks, one of the favorites to win it this year, their second straight victory.

They had six points for the solo lead following a 3-2 win over the Hans Smith-mentored Green Archers United on opening day.

Mark Hartmann, another Fil-Brit just like the Younghusbands, opened up the scoring with an 18-minute goal to give Loyola a 1-0 advantage but Meliton Pelayo struck back 12 minutes later to knot the count.

Eager to finish off a pesky Army side, which pulled off a shock 2-1 triumph over fancied Global last week, the Sparks went on attack mode at the start of second half action and nearly broke the tie twice.

One play saw Phil, who was the best scorer in the last Cup with 25 goals, shooting wide from James’ layoff.

The Sparks had several other golden scoring chances, one by Korean Jeong Byeong Yeol who headed the ball wide from close range off a Phil cross, and Jake Morallo who was denied by Sacapano on the 65th minute.

Then the Younghusbands took charge for that game-winning moment.

Meanwhile, the match pitting League and Cup champion Air Force Phoenix against Gilligan Stallions was moved to Tuesday at the University of Makati to rest some of the Azkals who played a Division III Korean club over the weekend.

LBC-backed Kaya FC, which was playing winless Green Archers United at presstime, was looking for a win that would give it a share of the lead with Loyola.