UFL: Korean Min Seung Yeon’s lone goal lifts Socceroo over Navy

MANILA, Philippines – Korean Min Seung Yeon came through with the only goal of the match as Team Socceroo edged Navy FC, 1-0, in a rugged, highly physical match to leapfrog to the solo lead in the Second Division of the 2013 United Football League at the McKinley Hill grounds in Taguig City.

With the game appearing to go into a scoreless draw, Michael Mari Reyes set up Min for that 78th minute rocket that sent the Socceroo booters, who downed Union Internacional Manila, 2-0, last Feb. 10, to their second straight win and into the lead with six points.

So physical was the Team Socceroo-Navy duel that a total of 12 yellow cards were called plus one red card from Socceroo's Moon Byung Hun for getting assessed with two yellows including on the 87th when they played with 10-man late in the game.

The Navymen, a First Division fixture in the past before their demotion last year, fell to their first defeat.

Meanwhile, Laos FC turned back Cimarron FC, 2-1, and Forza FC slammed Agila FC, 3-1, to barge into the win column.

Abubaker Abdullah scored the game-winning goal in 73rd minute before Laos, which got its first goal scored on the fourth minute courtesy of another Hwedi, Ahmed Abdalla, before Cimarron's Miguel Alberto Gutierrez knots it with a 23rd minute blast, practically parked the proverbial bus to preserve the win.

Isaac Agyi and Foday Nah Johnson gave Forza a 2-0 lead by scoring on the 52nd and 64th but Michael Manejaro kept Agila alive by unleashing a goal of his own on the 68th to cut it to just a 2-1 deficit.

Dibi Pascal's stroke of genius with an 85th minute strike gave his team enough cushion to take the fight the fight out of their foes and seal it.

It was Johnson and Pascal's second goal of the season to join Agila's Philip Zemen at No. 2 for most goals scored next to Agila's Michale Manejero's six.

Cimarron and Laos both fell to their first defeats.