FC Meralco Manila beats Davao Aguilas, rolls to fourth straight win
FC MERALCO Manila sustained its fine form in the Philippines Football League ( PFL), beating visiting Davao Aguilas FC, 2- 0, in Saturday action at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium for its fourth win in as many games.
Towed by goals from Curt Dizon and James Younghusband, Meralco Manila kept its unblemished record in the newly formed national football league intact with 12 points, five points clear of second- running teams Kaya FC- Makati and Global Cebu FC with 2-1-1 records and seven points.
Meralco Manila did not waste much time in scoring its first goal with Mr. Dizon connecting from close range in the sixth minute of the match.
Davao did a solid job in making sure that the host side did not add to its score in the opening half while having scoring opportunities of its own by way Gerald Layumas, Dylan De Bruycker, and Omar Khan.
Meralco Manila, however, was unrelenting in putting pressure on its opponent and was rewarded anew for its efforts when captain Younghusband made it 2-nil for his team with a goal from inside the box.
The goal was the third early in the PFL season for Mr. Younghusband.
The Aguilas tried to make a comeback but none would happen as the Sparks, as Meralco Manila is known, would stay aggressive and hold on to the lead up to the end.
“Davao played wel l . We were fortunate in the small moments of the game,” said Sparks coach Aris Caslib following their win.
With the loss, Davao ( 0-1- 3) dropped their third game in four matches.
Next for Meralco Manila is Kaya, whom it will face on June 17 after the international break that will see the Philippine Azkals play in their AFC Asian Cup campaign. Meanwhile, Ceres-Negros FC notched its first win in the PFL after beating Global, 1-0, in their own clash on Saturday in Bacolod City.
Jeffrey Christiaens was the hero for Ceres in said game as he scored the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute that had hometown fans celebrating afterwards.
The victory was in follow-up to the 1-1 draw Ceres had in its PFL debut last month with Kaya. It improved to 1-1-0 with four points in two games.
Ceres recently barged into the ASEAN zonal finals of the AFC Cup where it will battle Singapore’s Home United FC in matches set for August.