Loyola Meralco Sparks finish Menpora Cup campaign

Photo c/o Guest Galang of the Malang Post

As part of their UFL Cup preparations, the Loyola Meralco Sparks were invited to participate in the Menpora Cup, a competition that brought together football teams from Indonesia and neighboring countries.

Loyola was bracketed alongside Indonesian sides Arema Malang, Persepam Madura and Mitra Kukar in Group B, and played all 3 sides in a span of five days.

They opened their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Arema Malang on Saturday at the Kanjuruhan Stadium, with the lone goal of the match came from Beto Gonzalves in the 22nd minute. Arema, being the home side, was the clear aggressor throughout the fixture, which was something that head coach Vince Santos managed to adjust as the match went on. He also felt that Arema was the toughest team in the group, which would eventually be proven to be the case by Wednesday night.

On Monday, Loyola bounced back with a 3-1 victory over Persepam Madura. Joo Young Lee opened the scoring in the 19th minute, but Persepam quickly answered a minute later, through Denny Rumba. The Sparks would retake the lead just before halftime, thanks to Philippine international James Younghusband, who took advantage of a corner attempt from his brother Phil and sent a header past the defense.

Loyola would tack on a third goal ten minutes into the second half, thanks to a Persepam own goal. The Sparks would then weather the increased intensity from their Indonesian opposition to survive with the victory and a chance to possibly play in the final this Sunday against A-League champions Central Coast Mariners.

Coming into their game against Mitra Kukar on Wednesday, they were already at a disadvantage due to James' suspension as a result of being sent off late against Persepam. They would then be outplayed early on, as the side that was once coached by Simon McMenemy scored the first three goals in the first 30 minutes, two of which were credited to Paolo Frangipane. It became worse when new acquisition Joaquin Canas was sent off in the 29', reducing Loyola to ten men.

Before the first half ended, Lee scored to make it 3-1 to at least set up a possibility of a comeback, but Arif Suyono and Frangipane assured the Indonesian side get the three points with goals in the second half to secure a 5-1 win and send the UFL side to finish at the bottom of the group with 3 points and a -3 goal difference.

Upon the defeat and exit, Santos says that these are the games that test a team's character. He also acknowledged that the side is in the experimentation stage.