Philippines to face Indonesia in August

The Philippine Football Federation has confirmed that the national team will be facing the Indonesia national team on August 14, 2013 in Indonesia.

"The PFF has accepted the invite of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) for a friendly mach between the A teams of Philippines and Indonesia on August 14, 2013 at Solo, Central Java, Indonesia," according to PFF General Secretary Gastanes this morning confirming the friendly between the two sides.

Although not under the FIFA Friendly dates, this will be the fourth time since 2010 that the Philippines will face Indonesia, who are currently at 168 in the FIFA rankings.

The last time that the two sides face was in June 2012 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila, where the Azkals came back from a 2-0 defecit to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Before that, they squared off in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup Semifinals where Indonesia advanced to the finals with a 2-0 aggregate victory.

Azkals website

Santos defends Loyola's physical game

The Sparks coach suffered two dismissals in their 5-4 aggregate defeat to Tanjong Pagar in the second leg of the Singapore Cup quarter-finals, as counterpart Patrick Vallee fumed

Luck was not with Loyola Meralco Sparks as they crashed out of the RHB Singapore Cup against Tanjong Pagar, having ended the match with nine men in the second leg of the quarter-finals.

Despite being at a numerical disadvantage, the Philippines club put on a brave and gutsy performance to force a 3-3 draw at the Jalan Besar Stadium as they lost 5-4 on aggregate. 

It was not a surprise that Sparks coach Vincent Santos hit out at referee Sukhbir Singh for sending off his players, first Park Min Ho for a second bookable offence in the first half and then a straight red for Jang Jo Won after his challenge on Sazali Salleh in the closing stages of the match.

“The card definitely changed the game and the first yellow could have been a warning instead, but he still could have given him a last warning before showing the second yellow card," he said.

“In the first half there were fouls that was not meant to hurt [anyone]... over the course of the game, I feel it was horrible refereeing."

But the tough and physical display, which fell short of being ugly, was masterminded by Santos as he did not want to see his charges get bullied by their opponents. 

“I am proud of how we fought despite going two men down but I am not happy with the results as we are out of the competition," he said.

“We needed to stay tough and from the first game we were soft and so I did not want them (Tanjong Pagar) to have easy balls or turns.” 

One could sense the anger in Jaguars coach Patrick Vallee (right) when he made his way into the room for the post-match conference.

“I am very disappointed and upset with what I saw on the field and I have lost one player (Sazali, due to a broken fibula) for the rest of the season.. and it is not football [from Loyola]," the Frenchman fumed.

“If he [Santos] never saw the fault, I can show him my player's leg, he is in hospital now.

“Maybe he needed an excuse for losing the game and failing to qualify.”

Vallee then praised his players for meeting their objectives.

“We achieved what we had wanted: qualify for the semi-final and that is important," he said.

“They scored three but we scored three goals too. I am very proud of my players, we never panicked and we kept our calm and came back in the game.”

goal.com

Sparks fall short of bid for a return trip in Singapore Cup semis

Karlo Sacamos

A resilient Loyola Meralco side fell short of realizing a return trip to the Singapore Cup semifinals as it settled for a 3-3 draw against Tanjong Pagar United on Sunday night at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Aching to bounce back from a 2-1 loss in the first leg of the quarterfinals, the Sparks played with a sense of urgency, but failed to escape some questionable costly card bookings that left them undermanned most of the game and ultimately lost on aggregate.

The Filipino booters’ ouster denied the chance of an all-Filipino clash in the semis of the annual invitational participated by top Singapore League sides and some Southeast Asian neighbors.

The Sparks could’ve faced United Football League rival Global FC, which beat DPMM, 5-4, on aggregate in their own quarterfinal tie.

Park Min Ho drew first blood 35 minutes into the game, but the Korean received a second yellow card that led to an ejection for tackling Monsef Zerka late in the first half.

Trailing, 2-3, in the second half, the Sparks’ woes were compounded when Jang Jo Won, who scored the team’s second goal, wound up as the second casualty when he was sent off for lunging on a defender, leaving the Sparks with only nine men four minutes before stoppage.

Chad Gould scored the equalizing header off a free kick from Phil Younghusband in the 90th minute that, however, went for naught. 

spin.ph

Singapore Cup : Tanjong Pagar United 3-3 Loyola Meralco Sparks Fc

Singapore Cup Quarterfinal, second leg

Loyola Meralco Sparks FC line up:

3. Matthew Hartmann
7. James Younghusband (Capt)
9. Chad Gould 
10. Philip Younghusband 
11. Roxy Dorlas
16. Jang Jowoong
17. Park Min Ho
19. Jang Jowon
20. Jeong Byeongyeol
22. Baba Sampana (GK)
27. Peter Fadrigalan

Tanjong Pagar United FC line up:
1. Aurelien Herisson (GK)
2. Anthony Aymard
8. Ahmad Latiff (Capt)
9. Ismael Benahmed
10. Kamel Ramdani
11. Hafiz Nor
12. Monsef Zerka
14. Sazali Salleh
15. K Vikraman
16. John Wilkinson
20. Zahid Ahmad

Tanjong Pagar won first match 2-1.

UPDATE :

23 mins Park Min Ho , yellow card (Loyola)
37 mins 1-0 Park Min Ho (Loyola)
44min 1-1 Benahmed (Tanjong)
45 min Park Min Ho Second yellow, Red card (Loyola)
1-1 HT
56 min 1-2 Hafiz Nor (Tanjong Pagar)
68 min 2-2 Jang Jowon (Loyola)
76 min 2-3 RAmdani (Tanjong Pagar)
86 mins Jang Jowon red card (Loyola )
90 mins Chad Gould 3-3 (Loyola)
3-3 FT


Tanjong Pagar United play Global Fc in semifinal in October

LOYOLA MERALCO SPARKS (1) VS (2) TANJONG PAGAR UNITED (JULY 28, SUNDAY, 8P.M, JALAN BESAR STADIUM)

Tanjong Pagar United are only able to take a one-goal lead going into the second leg of their quarter-final tie with Philippines outfit Loyola Meralco Sparks. 

Despite dominating the opening stages of that match, Patrick Vallee's charges were not able to stretch their advantage after storming to a two-goal lead courtesy of a goal each from Monsef Zerka and Ismael Benahmed in the sixth and 18th minutes respectively.

The visitors managed to regroup after that and narrowed the deficit after captain James Younghusband pulled a goal back for the United Football League side. 

It was exhilarating end-to-end stuff in the first leg and fans can expect an even more exciting clash at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

With the match being held on a Sunday, there will be no doubt be an overwhelming support from the Philippines community here in Singapore, which Loyola coach Vincent Santos has said that they are looking forward to. 

While the Jaguars heavily relied on their French quintet of Zerka, Benahmed, Anthony Aymard, Kamel Ramdani and custodian Aurelien Herisson, Loyola kept faith in their South Korean legion.

Park Min-Ho and Jang Jo-Won will be keeping guard at the backline, with Jang Jo Woong pulling the strings in midfield and Jeong Byeong Yeol forming a strikeforce partnership with Philippines international Phil Younghusband. 

With only two full day of rest before their clash on Sunday, expect tiring legs to be the norm in the second half of the return tie and any mistakes made by either side then could prove to be costly.

All Tanjong Pagar have to do is prevent their opponent from scoring and they will secure progression to the semi-final as they seek a first final spot since 1998 - the year in which they won the trophy.

S League website

Draw sends Global Fc ino to Singapore Cup semifinals

Karl Decena, InterAKTV 

Global FC settled for a draw with Brunei Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota (DPMM) FC, but that was enough for the United Football League side to book a ticket to the semifinals of the 2013 Singapore Cup Saturday night at the Jalan Besar Stadium in the city-state.

Global battled DPMM to a 4-4 tie in the second leg of the quarterfinals, but the Philippine club won the series after registering an aggregate score of 5-4 thanks to its 1-nil victory in the first leg last Wednesday.

The second leg victory, however, didn’t come easily for Global, which almost blew its chance to advance to the next round.

Carli De Murga lifted Global in the first half, scoring three goals at the 20th, 37th and 45th minutes to bag an early hat trick and give his squad a comfortable 3-nil cushion.

Rufo Sanchez padded Global’s lead to 4-nil after a goal at the 55th minute.

But Global had anxious moments after seeing DPMM make a huge rally. Arturas Rimkevicius scored at the 62nd minute, while Tales Delos Santos followed it with a shot at the 69th minute.

DPMM went on to score two more goals in the last 10 minutes to tie the match at 4-4. However, the S.League side failed to complete the comeback with another goal, allowing Global to win the series.

With the victory, Global will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between fellow UFL squad Loyola Meralco Sparks and Tanjong Pagar United in the semifinals. Tanjong Pagar won the first leg, 2-1, last Thursday.

The Singapore Cup is an annual invitational tournament featuring clubs from the S.League and abroad, mostly from Southeast Asia.

interaksyon

Singapore Cup : Global Fc 4-4 DPMM FC

Second leg Quarterfinal Global Fc vs DPMM Fc 

8 pm Jalan Besar Stadium


Starting line up for Global FC: 

5. Ange Guisso
6. Paul Mulders
7. Ben Starosta (C)
8. Rufino Sanchez
9. Misagh Bahadoran
14. Carlos De Murga
16. Roland Sadia (GK)
28. Jeffrey Christiaens
30. Joshua Beloya
33. Patrick Delon
63. Jerry I Barbaso

Subs: Pascual, Ochoterena, Altiche, Theuer, Sacapano, Mw Angeles, Mv Angeles


Global FC won first leg 1-0.

Starting line up for Brunei DPMM FC:

3. Sairol Sahari
5. Shahrulrizal Abd Rahman
6. Pg Sallehuddin Damit
7. Azwan Saleh
8. Rodrigo Tosi
10. Joao Moreira
11. Subhi Abdilah
12. Arturas Rimkevicius
13. Rosmin Kamis (C)
14. Helmi Zambin
25. Wardun Yussof (GK)


Livescore : www.futbol24.com

25 min 1-0 Carli De Murga
37 min 2-0 Carli De Murga
45 min 3-0 Carli De Murga
3-0 HT
55 min 4-0 Rufino Sanchez
62 min 4-1 DPMM FC
68 min 4-2 DPMM Fc
82 min 4-3 DPMM FC
85 min 4-4 DPMM Fc
4-4 FT


Global Fc in semifinal and will meet Tanjong Pagar United (Singapore) or Loyola Meralco Sparks Fc 

BRUNEI DPMM (0) VS (1) GLOBAL FC (JULY 27, SATURDAY, 8P.M, JALAN BESAR STADIUM)

This tie is far from over as Global FC only hold a slender one-goal advantage over Brunei DPMM, who were on par with their Philippines opponents in the first leg. 

But the Bruneians were unlucky to concede a goal in the dying seconds of the match and were also guilty of not putting away chances presented to them.

After the 1-0 loss, coach Vjeran Simunic admitted that he was not pleased with the performance of his foreign strikers Joao Moreira and Arturas Rimkevicius. 

Moreira has been sending his attempts into the wilderness in the past few matches while Rimkevicius, according to Simunic, has yet to get accustomed to the artificial pitch at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

This could mean a start for locals Azwan Ali and Adi Said to lead their frontline and snatch the early goal, which will set the clash up for an interesting battle as both side aim to progress to the semis.

While the Wasps are known for their tactical discipline and build-up play from the middle, Brian Reid's charges also worked wonders with their swift counter-attacking play, often breaking away via their flankers before sending dangerous crosses into the box for lone striker Rufino Sanchez.

Global might not be the fittest side between the two but their coach has cleverly set out a strategy that addressed their weaknesses and slowed down the tempo of the match whenever necessary. 

Both sides amassed nine yellow cards between them in the first leg and the second leg will no doubt be just as physical, not forgetting the lively coaches who were having a duel of words on the touchline.

Global captain Ben Starosta, who is leading the team’s backline, might be in for a busy night as DPMM will be throwing numbers forward in the hope of overturning the tie to their favour.

S League website