Loyola squanders lead, suffers blow to title bid

MANILA, Philippines – Nomads put a dent to the Loyola Meralco Sparks’ title bid by forcing a 2-2 draw in the United Football League action Tuesday night at the Emperador Stadium in McKinley Hill.

Nomads sent early shock waves to the Sparks when Mikko Mabanag burst into the penalty box for the opening goal off a well-placed pass from Phil Connolly in the 28^th minute.

The Sparks were shell-shocked and it took them some time to recover their bearings.  Korean Jeong Byeong Yeol and Mark Hartmann bridged the first and second half with two quick goals as the Sparks steal the lead from Nomads.

But Loyola’s celebration was short-lived as Nomads countered quickly with the game-tying goal two minutes later courtesy of Bafio Magassa from another Connolly assist.

The Sparks improved to 33 points but got stuck at third spot leaving Stallion-Sta. Lucia (39 points) and Global (34 points) some breathing room. The Sparks now need to sweep their remaining three matches and hope that the two teams ahead of them drop some points.

Despite the confidence-boosting draw, Nomads remained at eight spot with 13 points.