Loyola edges Pachanga 3-2 in classic final, crowned UFL Cup champs
At last the Loyola Meralco Sparks have the silverware that was so often denied them.
On Thursday night the Sparks defeated Pachanga-Diliman FC 3-2 in a memorable final match in front of a full house in Emperador Stadium to lift their first-ever trophy.
On a cool, crisp evening Loyola leaned on scores from the Younghusband brothers and Chad Gould, while Pachanga Diliman's Ariel Zerrudo kept his team in the game with an excellent double.
“I feel relief now” said James Younghusband after the game. “It wasn't our best performance but we showed character.”
As expected, Sparks coach returned James to the right wing and moved Lee Joo Young to the left wing because of the suspension of Matt Hartmann. That allowed Boyet Cañedo to start in the midfield.
PD boss Noel Marcaida also had a player unavailable, striker Nate Burkey. Alu Kigbu supplanted him up top which freed up a starting slot for ex-Spark Jayson Cutamora in the middle of the park.
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Loyola could have opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute but PD keeper Kim Versales tipped over a Lee Joo Young effort. Moments later Versales was in the spotlight again, brilliantly neutralizing a Joaco Cañas header.
Then in the seventeenth minute Ariel Zerrudo gave the underdogs a shock lead, exploiting a Cañedo giveaway to drill a shot past Meralco goalie Baba Sampana and into the net.
Incredibly, it was the first goal allowed by Loyola in the Cup, through a total of ten hours and 47 minutes of Football.
Sparks retribution was swift. Just two minutes later James nodded in an equalizer off a corner from his brother.
Then a minute into first-half injury time PD centerback Reza Amirkhizan muffed a routine clearance from deep inside his own box. The ball found its way to Chad Gould near the second post and the former Azkal slammed it past Versales for 2-1.
At the half Marcaida shuffled the deck by bringing on Dingdong Fornea and Jed Rances to replace Davide Cortina (another ex-Spark) and Ousseynou Diop.
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In the 53rd Pachanga look dead and buried when Phil Younghusband scored from the left flank for 3-1.
“Mabagal yung bola at walang power but I anticipated it going into the other side” said Versales of the shot. “Pag bawi ko sa kabila di ko na-plant ng maayos paa ko. Sayang.”
But then it was PD's turn to rebound quickly. Zerrudo exploited some hesitant defending from Sam Bonney to sneak in goal just a minute later to make it 3-2.
That set up a furious finish with attempts from both sides. Spark sub Freddy Gonzalez nearly connected off a Phil pass at the hour mark but hoofed just wide. A minute later, Lee tried an audacious outside-of-the-boot shot that Versales alertly deflected over.
With seventeen minutes to go Amirkhizan tried to get his third free-kick goal in as many games but his cheeky attempt that swerved low around the wall was saved.
Soon after Loyola brought in PJ Fadrigalan for Simon Greatwich but his stint was short-lived. Referee Ariel Montaña showed him a red card for a harsh challenge on Kigbu soon after.
Phil attempted a free kick in the 85th that Versales punched clear, while four minutes later Ernest Appiah yanked a shot just wide left after a terrific lay-back from Nathan Octavio.
Amirkhizan had one last free kick attempt in the ninetieth but it sailed high and wide. Four minutes later the final whistle blew, igniting wild celebrations from the Sparks while the PD players sank to the ground in despair.
“A round of applause for Pachanga. They made it difficult for us” said James afterwards.
“If we could have only sustained our press throughout the game we could've had a chance” bemoaned PD veteran (and former Spark) Anto Gonzales.
Phil Younghusband collected the Golden Boot and MVP awards after three goals in the semis and finals.
In the third-place game earlier in the evening Green Archers United Globe prevailed over Air Force 3-0.
Loyola now wins its first piece of silverware of consequence, but James believes they are far from finished when he offered the following words.
“This is just the start of something big.”
Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.
