Loyola
returns to Lion City for the 2013 Singapore Cup
by rick olivares pic from goal.com.sg
With the chance for any UFL silverware
now up in smoke, the Loyola Meralco Sparks return to Singapore today, May 24,
2013, that is the site of some of their greatest victories and some of their
most terrible defeats.
The Sparks unexpectedly drew with
Nomads 2-2 last Tuesday sending the team into their Southeast Asian neighbor
for the annual international football invitational with all sorts of questions
about their game. The draw, coupled with the wins of league-leading Stallion
and close second placer Global, has made the chase for the league title a
two-horse race.
During the Sparks inaugural stint in
the 2012 Singapore Cup, they defeated Singapore side, Geylang United, 2-1, in a
thrilling match at the Jalan Besar Stadium with a 95th minute goal
by Park Min Ho. With the Filipino side unused to the hard turf surface of Jalan
Besar and the extreme humidity that left most of the Sparks cramping up, they
took the fight to the home team and came away with a lot of respect from the
Singapore clubs.
Into the second round, they defeated
Myanmar champions Kanbawza 5-3 on aggregate to advance to the semifinals.
Loyola’s luck ran out in the semis
where they faced S.League champions Tampines Rovers who crushed them 5-0 in
aggregate scores for the two legs. Then Loyola was ignominiously bounced 4-0 by
Gombak United in the battle for third place.
Mark Hartmann and James Younghusband
each scored two goals to pace Loyola in the tournament. Phil Younghusband, Jake
Morallo, and Park Min Ho added one goal each to their campaign.
“It was a learning experience for us
last year,” said club president Randy Roxas on the eve of the team’s departure
for Singapore. “We will come back stronger and wiser. But it won’t be easy as
the Malaysian team we are playing, Harimau Muda B, is the Under-19 team of
Malaysia.”
Harimau Muda B, nicknamed ‘The Young
Tigers”, plays in the S.League without foreign reinforcements. It is done so
with an eye towards development and for moving up to the senior national side.
The Young Tigers are currently in fifth place in the 12-team S.League where
they currently tote a 6-2-6 record.
The Young Tigers finished in eighth
spot in last year’s S. League.
“Hopefully we will do better this year
and win us some silverware,” said Loyola forward Phil Younghusband. “We’d also
like to see how far we’ve really come as a club.”
The Sparks will play without two
injured starters in forward Freddy Gonzalez and centerback Rodrigue Nembot.
Defending UFL champion Global will
likewise make its Singapore Cup debut this June 1 when they play Warriors, the
defending Singapore Cup champions at their home field of Choa Chung Kang
Stadium. Warriors, formerly known as the Singapore Armed Forces Football Club,
is surprisingly buried at the near bottom of the S.League with a 4-2-6 record
despite having several national players in goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, forward
Erwan Gunawan, midfielder Shi Jiayi, and defender Daniel Bennett who is also
the team captain.
Notes: The 2013 Singapore Cup will have all 12 S.League
teams participating with four foreign invited teams. Aside from Global and
Loyola, Boeung Ket Rubber Field (from Cambodia) and Laos Police Club (from
Laos) are also competing. The latter two teams as their league’s respective
club champions. Making their Singapore Cup debut for Loyola are Armand Del
Rosario, Matthew Uy, Angelo Marasigan, and Jang Jo Won, the younger brother of
the Sparks’ midfielder/defender Jang Joo Won.
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