Loyola Sparks lose first leg 2-0 in Singapore Cup semis
The Loyola Meralco Sparks' drive for silverware took a hit when they dropped the first leg of their Singapore Cup semifinal to the Tampines Rovers on Thursday night in Singapore.
Goals by Aleksandar Duric and Ahmad Latiff on either side of halftime means the Stags, who also sit atop the Singapore League table, have a big advantage going into the second leg on Sunday night in the Jalan Besar Stadium. The semifinals is an aggregate-goals contest over two matches.
On a relatively cool and windless night in Clementi stadium, Tampines' temporary home while they renovate their ground, Phil Younghusband was unable to work his magic while James Younghusband, hampered by fever, didn't start.
Chad Gould headed what looked like a Sparks goal in the 58th minute off a free kick but it was disallowed by referee Sukhbir Singh because defender Kim Woo Chul took the kick before the whistle.
Kim, on a yellow card already, was shown another, possibly for dissent, and was ejected.
A crowd of about 400 to 500 were on hand and most were expatriate Pinoys waving Philippine flags. They greatly outnumbered the home support.
Duric had the first real shot of the game in the fourteenth minute but his tame shot went straight to Sparks keeper Ref Cuaresma.
The Stags' forward Gilgor Gligorov almost opened the scoring in the 28th when he blazed past Alexandro Elnar on the left flank but the Macedonian slammed the ball into the side netting.
But a minute later the home side was in front thanks to a deft chip by Aleksandar Duric over a poorly-positioned Cuaresma, who had strayed from his line into no-man's land on the play.
Nine minutes later, James Younghusband, who had been suffering from a fever, checked into the game for Simon Greatwich.
The second half started brightly for the Stags, with Sead Hadzibulic and Gligorov both missing on headers soon after the restart.
In the 50th the Singaporean squad doubled their lead after Latiff picked up a pass from Imran Sahib and hammered it into the bottom left corner. Cuaresma got only the tips of his gloves on the shot, not enough to stop it.
Then in the 58th Gould thought he had pulled one back but his goal was disallowed and because of Kim's petulance, Loyola were down to ten men.
The Korean Kim, a new signing for Meralco at center back, will be suspended for Sunday's game.
Tampines continued to apply the pressure, with Cuaresma snuffing out an attempt by Sahib soon after and then Duric heading over in the 62nd.
Seven minutes later midfielder/forward Mark Hartmann, a surprise omission in coach Kim Chul Su's starting lineup, entered the match for captain Anto Gonzales.
Gonzales handed his armband to Gould before departing.
Phil had a chance in the 73rd minute after an inch-perfect pass from Elnar but the Tampines defense neutralized it.
A minute later it was the Rovers' turn to have a goal disallowed, with Duric's tap-in in front of goal off a pass from Latiff adjudged offside.
James Younghusband finally made an impact in the 77th when he volleyed at goal after some terrific work by his brother, but it was well wide.
In the 82nd Hartmann, known for his prowess with free kicks, produced one from outside the penalty box that was on target but straight at Tampines goalkeeper Sasa Dreven.
Jake Morallo, who scored in the series against Kanbawza, was brought in to spell Jeong Byeong Yeol in the midfield but the insertion perhaps came too late.
Moments later Cuaresma made a terrific point-blank save on a Hadzibulic attempt that likely kept the series alive for Loyola.
Just before the final whistle the Stags' French defender, Benoit Croissant, received his second yellow after a harsh challenge and was sent off. Like Kim, he will miss Sunday's game.
The four match officials, in matching pink shirts, were lustily booed by the Filipino crowd as they walked off the pitch.
Afterwards Meralco's team manager, Vince Santos, bemoaned the referees' decision on Gould's disallowed score.
"It looked like the other team was ready for it (the free kick) and they were not complaining. He (the referee) should have whistled right away, not after the goal had been scored."
Santos also didn't appreciate the yellow card on Kim. "It could have been a retake, but why give an automatic yellow card?"
The free kick actually was retaken after the yellow card but it did not result in a chance.
Santos also explained why Hartmann, who has scored twice in this competition, did not start.
"We wanted a little more movement and the type of play we wanted didn't fit Mark but he came in and produced for us. In the next game we need to score some goals and Mark is a very important attacking player for us."
While Thursday's game was played on grass, Sunday's match will be on artificial turf in Jalan Besar. Loyola have thrived on that ground, winning there over Geylang United in the first round then Myanmar's Kanbawza over two legs.
OTHER NOTES: Singapore Lions coach Raddy Abramovic was spotted taking in the action in from the stands.... Sparks Midfielder Davide Cortina was at the game but he is recovering from a respiratory infection and will not play in the series.... Cuaresma iced his left thumb after the game, telling me that the digit was actually mildly dislocated going into the match. He said though that he was not making excuses and that "the first goal was really mine (my fault.)".... It was good to finally eyeball my colleague Ian Griffiths, a Football writer for ESPN Star.... The Sparks debuted a new kit: blue tops with white trim and black shorts... I'm not a fan of the Clementi stadium. There already is a track around the field and to make things worse, there's a space of about 10 meters between the track and the grandstand. But the carabao grass field was lovely and it's well-lit.... According to Cuaresma, Paolo Pascual hurt his knee in the Azkals USA camp during training; either an MCL or ACL injury, and he does not know when he will return to action. We all wish him well.... Phil Younghusband seems interested in catching the ONE FC MMA fight card on Saturday, as long as it doesn't finish too late. Kevin Belingon is the lone Filipino fighter there.... Best moment from the bus ride back to the hotel: Ref Cuaresma finding out that Singapore was formerly a British colony. He told me "why don't the Singaporeans sound British?" To which I replied "Why don't we sound American?"
You can follow Bob Guerrero on Twitter @bhobg333.
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