Azkals teammates clash for 2011 UFL Cup

By Renee Fopalan

It's the Younghusband brothers of the Loyola Meralco Sparks versus Chieffy Caligdong and Ian Araneta of the Air Force Phoenix for the UFL Cup on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Philippine Azkals striker Phil Younghusband will team up with Mark Hartmann when they try to lead the Sparks to victory. The two combined for 37 goals in the six games they played to finish 1-3 in the UFL’s top goal scorers.Air Force is not to be outdone in terms of firepower as Araneta and Caligdong are ranked second and fifth in scoring with a combined 25 goals.

The two teams faced little challenge in their road to the finals. Loyola Meralco opened its campaign with a 15-0 demolition of Team Socceroo FC and continued dominating teams in Group B. The Sparks routed Internacionale FC, 7-1, and Agila FC, 5-1, respectively.

They crushed Sunken Garden United, 14-0, in the knockout stage then squeezed out a 2-1 decision against Stallions FC in a game where three red and seven yellow cards were issued.

In the semifinals round, the Sparks overhauled a 3-0 halftime deficit before the Younghusband brothers and Mark Hartman scored five goals in the second half to book Loyola’s first finals appearance.

Similarly, Air Force steamrolled its elimination round opponents starting with a 4-1 win over Laos FC. The Phoenix never let up and overwhelmed Philippine Navy Redjuice FC, 6-2, and thrashed Manila-All Japan FC, 13-0.

Araneta then held a scoring clinic for the Airmen in the knockout stage where he finished with seven goals in Air Force’s 15-3 pummeling of Manhur FC. The Phoenix defeated Green Archers United, 3-1, in the quarterfinals.

Air Force faced Global FC in the semifinals, a rematch of last year’s 2010 UFL Cup Championship. This time, the Airmen avenged their loss scoring two late goals to unseat the champions.

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Posted in: UFL CUP