Army vs Loyola
It’s battle stations for
Army as Loyola brings more firepower to bear.
by rick olivares
5:15pm
Rizal Memorial Football Stadium
For the nth year running, Army will
field the same team minus one key player from the past season and a half while
Loyola has tinkered a wee bit with its lineup of the same time.
The inability to recruit due to the
system of military teams (they must be enlisted and cannot receive pay) will
clearly hurt them and in all likelihood cause problems for years to come. Time
was the best way to continue one’s football career was to go to the military
teams. The semipro league has allowed players to a certain degree to earn a
living but that’s not the point here.
Every time Army steps on the pitch
they are not only fighting for respect but also survival. Loyola is fighting
for the silverware they think they richly deserve given their star-studded
lineup. They know however that this will not be handed on a silver platter.
They will have to claw, fight, and stand up for it beginning with Army that
nearly upset them at the start of league play last season.
The Sparks have made their changes in
the head coach position while adding players on offense and defense and now
there are no more excuses. Former assistant coach and national player Vincent
Santos is now head coach replacing Kim Chul So who is now team consultant. Anto
Gonzales is back with Pachanga-Diliman while Matthew Hartmann is back in
action. Freddy Gonzalez is counted on to alleviate the goal-scoring pressure on
Phil Younghusband while long time Kaya icon Armand Del Rosario and Pachanga
left back Jalsor Soriano will help on defense. They provide depth and options
for Santos.
By dropping Phil Younghusband in the
middle, it has added another dimension to their smooth ball movement. If the
forwards in Chad Gould and Mark Hartmann (who was has been terrific in the last
few months) cannot find the back of the net then that causes problems and will
see Phil moving up with Gonzalez coming in.
Loyola’s loss to Kaya in the
quarterfinals of the recently concluded PFF Smart National Club Championship is
a huge setback (with all due respect to Kaya). Two seasons ago, they did not
have the bench to keep up with their high-powered starting unit. Now they do. It’s
winning time for them.
Army has lost Champ Baron who came up
big with a couple of goals for them while providing some spunk off the bench.
He’s gone now and in his place are several newcomers in Efren and Elmo
Pabilona, Estorque Percinipilis, Carlos Sescon, and Erwin Silvestre. And as
usual, Army will have to count on its bevy of national players in Roel Gener,
Boogie Margarse, Eduard Sacapaño, and Ric Becite to lead the charge with
Meliton Pelayo and Relan Bretaña up front. For Army to get their offensive
going, Margarse and Becite will have to lift their games to another level. When
that fails, they resort to the longball and Loyola will be waiting with their
taller but no less speedy defenders.
The new promotion relegation scheme
will keep everyone on their toes. With other teams getting better (Stallion and
Green Archers United to name a few), every game will be huge with wins, losses
and draws telling in the standings.
Army can hold off Loyola and put the
fear of God in their counters but if Loyola scores early, they’ll be deep in
their foxhole. If Loyola doesn’t score early, then Army can pip them like Kaya
did (the Sparks owned ball possession and had more shots on goal only that
doesn’t guarantee a win) in the Smart Club tournament.
Expect no quarter from Army but Loyola
has more firepower.
THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE AZKALS LINEUP WAS FORMALIZED FOR THE FRIENDLY VS MYANMAR.
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