Loyola Meralco trails S.League champs in Singapore Cup semis

The Loyola Meralco Sparks’ magical run in the Singapore Cup hit a snag Thursday night after they fell to S.League’s Tampine Rovers, 2-nil, in the first leg of their semifinals showdown in Clementi Stadium in Singapore City.

With James Younghusband nursing a fever and not starting, Loyola Meralco was not the same team that beat the Geyland United and Kanbawza FC in the early rounds.

And it showed against the S.League’s defending champions.

Without his brother, Phil Younghusband tried to carry the Sparks but could not unlock the Stags’ solid defense. Phil, however, beat his defender in the 22^nd minute but his cross did not find a teammate on the far post.

As the Sparks struggled, the Stags grew in strength.

After Loyola Meralco’s reinforcement Kim Woo-Chul was booked for a yellow card, Tampines took advantage.

The Stags’ 42-year old skipper Aleksandar Duric opened the scoring act in the 29^th minute.  The Bosnian striker latched onto a long ball and wisely lobbed it past Loyola keeper Ref Cuaresma to give the home team a 1-nil lead.

The Sparks failed to equalize even when James was fielded in the 37^th minute for Simon Greatwich as the Singapore’s top club took the one-goal lead at the break.

Even with the Younghusband brothers up front, the Sparks failed to score and worse, their defense yielded another goal.

The second blow came just five minutes into the second half when former Singapore national player Ahmad Latiff doubled the lead with a powerful finish from the edge of the box to the bottom corner.

Loyola Meralco appeared to pull one back shortly after but Kim’s free kick was nullified as the referee ruled he attempted before his whistle was blown.  The South Korean midfielder was booked for his second yellow card and was sent off, disqualifying him from playing in the all-or-nothing second leg on Sunday to be aired over AKTV on IBC-13 at 9pm. 

Not even the entry of Mark Hartmann in the 71^st minute for Anto Gonzales could swing the momentum to the Sparks, who lost Chad Gould to injury late in the match.

The Sparks will have to overhaul that two-goal deficit on Sunday at Jalan Besar Stadium to advance to the finals in their first ever international stint as a club.  

philstar