MANILA, Philippines – Global FC waylaid a listless Pachanga PLDT Home Fibr, 3-0, to snatch the lead from Loyola Meralco Sparks in the heated First Division race of the United Football League at the Emperador Stadium Tuesday night.
It took Global a strong attacking first half anchored on goals by Fil-German Jeffrey Christaens and Sudanese striker Izzeldin El Habib to grab the full three points for a 34-point total that catapulted it straight to the top after overtaking Loyola.
The Sparks, who absorbed a painful 2-1 defeat at the hands of Green Archers United-Globe last week, fell to second place with 32 points after holding on to it since the start of this triple-round robin division.
Despite the victory, Global's Scottish coach Leigh Manson said he and the team are far from satisfied.
"We feel disappointed in the way we played. If you walked in there (locker room) you wouldn't know that we've won the game. They're disappointed with the way they've performed," said Manson.
"I think that shows the standards that we're trying to reach with the club. They've gone top of the table, scored three, and conceded none, but they're disappointed," he added.
Pachanga, bankrolled by PLDT Home Fibr, felt it won the second half.
"The positive is that we really stepped up in the second half. We've shown what Pachanga is capable of. Playing the top four teams in 11 days is very tough," said Pachanga coach Noel Marcaida, whose charges fell to seventh with only 12 points to show.
Earlier, LBC-bankrolled Kaya went into full assault as it crushed a hapless Pasargad, 9-0, to remain at third spot with 27 points, seven off the pace and five behind second-running Loyola.
Masa Omura's header right on the first minute of the match triggered a scoring spree as Kaya broke the duel wide open as Christian Ayew unloaded a brace and Kenshiro Daniels, Anton del Rosario, OJ Porteria, Richard Greer and Janrick Soriano scored a goal apiece.
"It gives all those players (goal scorers) a bit of confidence. In the dressing room before the game, I told Christian (Ayew) that he would get a double today. So he's calling me Prophet David now, hopefully I can make more predictions like that in the future for him," said Kaya mentor David Perkovic.
"We're able to hold the line a lot easier now up top with big Pablo (Rodriguez) up front, so it adds a little bit of a different dimension to our game. He's definitely a presence up there. He's been a valuable acquisition to the team," he added.