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Post by stellarboy on May 18, 2012 20:39:52 GMT 8
Halftime thoughts:
Loyola 0 - 1 Geylang
Well-played half for Loyola except for that defensive mishap. I'm getting frustrated with their silly defensive flops even since the UFL season, both cup and league.
I sense Geylang playing like Global FC, only 2x better, or even a Kaya FC with a 100% fit Aly Borromeo! Their center defense is massive!
They need to fix their finishing til the end. Hate being like that.
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Post by opn on May 18, 2012 22:27:31 GMT 8
Still a great win for the Sparks despite the defensive lapses. Clearly they were still trying to get use to the artificial turf and they were clearly tired but they played with so much heart.
Can't believe Aguinaldo is only 17. David Cortina was very effective against King.
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Post by cilantro on May 18, 2012 22:30:26 GMT 8
5 sparks went down due to cramps? man, the humidity over there right now must be a killer
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Post by teddyandtimmysdad on May 18, 2012 22:33:05 GMT 8
Does anyone know where I can find a match report? online stream recorded from the game? ...final score?
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Post by stellarboy on May 18, 2012 22:56:58 GMT 8
Fulltime thoughts:
Loyola Meralco Sparks 2 - 1 Geylang United (a.e.t.) (Loyola) Mark Hartmann (64'), Park Min-ho (90+5') (Geylang) Michael King (41')
Loyola players were clearly the troopers. Really pressured the Geylang defense till the end. That Mark Hartmann goal was explosive for the fans, but it was kinda disappointing at first as it did stay 1-1 at regulation time. It was an awful sight during extra time, as the players were continuously cramping. But, nevertheless, Loyola did find the opportunity and Park Min-ho did the heroics.
Historic win for Philippine football, indeed.
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Post by stellarboy on May 18, 2012 22:59:20 GMT 8
Park sparks Loyola to historic win in Singapore Cup openerInterAKTV · Friday, May 18, 2012 · 10:48 pm The Loyola Meralco Sparks have a stellar lineup that boasts some of Philippine football’s brightest stars. In the end, however, it was unheralded South Korean import Park Min-Ho who made the biggest difference, giving the United Football League club a victory in its historic first appearance in the Singapore Cup Friday night at the Jalan Besar Stadium in the city-state. Park’s goal six minutes into the first half of extra time sealed the 2-1 victory over Singaporean S.League side Geylang United FC, allowing the Sparks to advance to the second round of the 16-team single-elimination tournament. Making its first appearance in a top regional club football competition, Loyola looked energized to start the game, dominating possession and getting several opportunities at goal for star striker Phil Younghusband. But the home players soon got its feet beneath them and started playing better. Michael King took advantage of an error by Loyola goalkeeper Ref Cuaresma at the 42nd minute to take a 1-nil lead into the break. The Sparks looked well on their way to an early tournament exit to start the second half, seeming a step slow in the face of the Geylang attack. But great ball work from James Younghusband allowed Mark Hartmann to tie the game at the 65th minute. Loyola was visibly more aggressive for the rest of regulation, but couldn’t get the go-ahead goal, making the extra time necessary. After the break, Park settled things early for the Sparks, sending home a sensational long-range strike that demoralized Geylang, who couldn’t break through for a tying goal. With the victory, the Sparks will face the winner of Woodlands Wellington FC of Singapore and Kanbawza FC of Myanmar in the second round. www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/park-sparks-loyola-to-historic-win-in-singapore-cup-opener
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Post by dingodile5 on May 18, 2012 23:58:55 GMT 8
i predict a 2-1 win for LMS. good luck Sparks! Your Guess is right ;D CONGRATULATIONS ;D
Replay of the RHB Siingapore Cup 2012 match between Loyola Meralco Sparks and Geylang United is on May 27 (Sunday) 2pm on AKTV on IBC13
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Post by stellarboy on May 19, 2012 0:33:54 GMT 8
Loyola Meralco Sparks 2-1 Geylang United (aet): Sparks the first foreign team to progress to the next roundIn the third preliminary round match of the 2012 RHB Singapore Cup, 2009 Cup winners Geylang United were unceremoniously dumped from the competition Despite the Sparks being cheered on by a good part of the crowd at the Jalan Besar Stadium, it was Geylang who settled into the game quicker, with more possession and better goal-scoring chances. However the visiting team soon found their stride and nearly took the lead on 12 minutes through Phil Younghusband, but the hotshot striker’s shot was saved, albeit unconvincingly, by Geylang goalkeeper Yazid Yasin. The Eagles had Yazid to thank for keeping the scoreline at 0-0 for 40 minutes, as he pulled off two fine saves - the first, an excellent diving save from a Jake Morallo header, after Philip Younghusband had expertly crossed the ball into the box; and the second, parrying a long range shot by Sparks midfielder Mark Hartmann. Michael King was the Eagles’ brightest spark throughout the game, and was unfortunate not to have scored on 25 minutes when his freekick curled well over the wall, but agonizingly hit the post. It was the Englishman who eventually broke the deadlock, as a defensive mix-up involving Sparks goalkeeper Ref Buaresma and his defenders gifted Geylang the opening goal. King gratefully stroked the ball into an empty net, ensuring his team went into halftime with a lead. As the teams appeared for the second half, the Sparks were clearly on a mission to stay in the competition and captain James Younghusband proved inspirational. Just a few minutes in, he beat the offside trap and sent an inviting pass across goal, but Jake Morallo failed to make contact with the ball. However the Sparks finally got the goal they wanted, after Mark Hartmann coolly chested the ball down before firing an unstoppable volley past Yazid to equalize. As both teams went in search for the winning goal, the Sparks players were clearly struggling to keep pace as one by one they started to suffer from cramps. The game eventually went into extra-time as the score remained tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes. The Sparks again looked the more motivated side, and took the lead fortuitously five minutes into extra-time. Park Minho’s fierce shot was deflected into the back of the net by Geylang’s Ishak Zainol, with Yazid Yasin rooted to the ground. The tired Filipinos then held on to their 2-1 lead for the remaining 20 minutes, to become the first foreign side to progress into the next round of the Singapore Cup, joining SAFFC, Home United and Tampines Rovers. www.goal.com/en-my/match/79955/loyola-meralco-sparks-fc-vs-geylang-united-fc/report
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Post by cjeagle on May 19, 2012 0:52:39 GMT 8
I guess the pregame betting odds were right, with Loyola being slightly ahead, as Loyola pulled off a 2-1 win over Geyland United in the first victory by a foreign club in the Singapore Cup this year. They now have a chance to play another team in a 2 legged match in July against either Woodlands Wellington FC of Singapore or Kanbawza FC of Myanmar in the second round.
I hope Loyola and the UFL learn their lesson though, as they need to improve their fitness as many of them succumbed to cramps late in the 2nd half and in extra time. International club play requires a higher level of match fitness and commitment than what they are accustomed to as they will be playing full professional teams who train nearly everyday from this point on and will not give you a breather. Training 2 or 3 times a week is not going to cut it.
They also need to improve on their defence, their achilles heel, as a defensive mix-up involving Sparks goalkeeper Ref Cuaresma and his defenders gifted Geylang the opening goal.
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Post by locotes on May 19, 2012 5:45:04 GMT 8
That was a good game. I didnot expect that much from LOYOLA. I tot it will be a one sided game in favor of Gelang.
BTW admin. Can you change the thread name to LOYOLA FC instead of Loyola Meralco Spark. Even the foreign media start calling them Meralco Sparks. It should start from us fans. We dont call Kaya LBC Padala team right? just a tot.
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Post by cjeagle on May 19, 2012 6:20:14 GMT 8
That was a good game. I didnot expect that much from LOYOLA. I tot it will be a one sided game in favor of Gelang.
BTW admin. Can you change the thread name to LOYOLA FC instead of Loyola Meralco Spark. Even the foreign media start calling them Meralco Sparks. It should start from us fans. We dont call Kaya LBC Padala team right? just a tot. locotes, The team needs to reward the company that pays for a lot of their bills so it would be unfair to take the Meralco monicker out in press reports. The name recognition is after all the primary reason they are sponsoring the Loyola team.
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Post by locotes on May 19, 2012 7:48:54 GMT 8
locotes,
The team needs to reward the company that pays for a lot of their bills so it would be unfair to take the Meralco monicker out in press reports. The name recognition is after all the primary reason they are sponsoring the Loyola team.
Yeah But its to American and its to Basketballisssh (thats a new word,haha) ;D. . I got your point and I respect your opinion on this, but for me I refuse calling them anything aside from LOYOLA, but that is just me.
Anyway cjeagle if you saw the the game you would say they were great. I didnt expect them to compete at all, never given them any credit before the game. Part of the game they dominated possession and chances, maybe because of the good pitch they can move the ball well. I cant wait when UFL will start using artificial turf, you would really see the difference of players/team skills
btw. is AKTV shown in the states?
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Post by cypher210 on May 19, 2012 8:17:40 GMT 8
locotes, The team needs to reward the company that pays for a lot of their bills so it would be unfair to take the Meralco monicker out in press reports. The name recognition is after all the primary reason they are sponsoring the Loyola team.
Yeah But its to American and its to Basketballisssh (thats a new word,haha) ;D. . I got your point and I respect your opinion on this, but for me I refuse calling them anything aside from LOYOLA, but that is just me.
Anyway cjeagle if you saw the the game you would say they were great. I didnt expect them to compete at all, never given them any credit before the game. Part of the game they dominated possession and chances, maybe because of the good pitch they can move the ball well. I cant wait when UFL will start using artificial turf, you would really see the difference of players/team skills
btw. is AKTV shown in the states? why take out the meralco part when Loyola meralco sparks is their official name?
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Post by cjeagle on May 19, 2012 8:22:08 GMT 8
locotes,
Unfortunately I didn't get to watch the livestream telecast of the game as I had to go to work, although I expected Loyola to win a close game against the last placed team in the Singapore league. From what I understand betting odds were slightly in favor of Loyola so I wasn't the only one to think this way. Happy to be proven right.
BTW, as far as I know AKTV is not televised in the US which doesn't really affect me that much since I use livestream to watch games from the Philippines most of the time.
As for their monicker, yeah it does sound American, but it still better than some of the non English names that clubs use in Asia that I have seen. Maybe in the future when the clubs have their own stadiums, sponsoring companies can get their name recognition from the stadium instead like we see in other clubs today instead of the team itself, but as you know the only UFL team that I know that has their own stadium is Nomads and apparently even that stadium from what I have heard, is not up to par acc. to international standards, which would make it difficult for a company to have their name on it.
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Post by Caz on May 19, 2012 8:27:23 GMT 8
This is a landmark win and another milestone for Philippine Football! However, the tournament only gets tougher from here. LMS needs to step up in all aspects because they weren't playing so impressively to me (except for Hartmann's goal, which had brilliant buildup and was struck beautifully). For this tournament, I think fitness is a larger concern than the team's defense. They played like heroes, fueled by nothing but heart in the end, but it shouldn't have to go that far. If they want to press and smother with fast plays and pounding offense then they have to keep that up for the full 90. But hey, they pulled it off in the end! Good job, LMS, now get to work!
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