Tahj Minniecon's offense proved to be the key for FC Meralco Manila, as they claim a 2-1 victory over Kaya FC-Makati in the second Philippines Football League match scheduled this past Saturday.
The Aussie scored the first one in the 23rd minute, receiving a pass from Curt Dizon, who took advantage of a miscue from the visitors at midfield, and shooting it past Kaya keeper Ref Cuaresma from the right flank. His second turned out to be the game-winner, scoring from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute, after Alfred Osei fouled Dizon inside the area, forcing referee Steve Supresencia to point to the spot.
Early on, the Sparks had a chance to break the ice, but Connor Tacagni's header three minutes in went wide. The visitors had their first chance a couple of minutes later, but Woody Ugarte's attempt went over the bar. Before Minniecon broke through, the hosts did manage to have attempts from Milan Nikolic, Tacagni, and Daniel Gadia.
In the second half, Minniecon and Gadia had their chances to double things up, and Kenshiro Daniels could have leveled things at the hour mark but his free kick was just over the bar. Four minutes later, Jordan Mintah's header off a Miguel Tanton cross went directly towards Jun Badelic.
Eventually, the visitors do tie it, thanks to Mintah's header that deflected off Nikolic and entered the net after 80 minutes, setting up for the late dramatics that would take place.
Kaya thought they had the equalizer when Robert Lopez Mendy quicky responded to make it 2-2, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside. A few minutes later, a perceived foul on Eric Giganto that would have netted the visitors a penalty was not given, causing additional frustration. They did get a final opportunity to tie things up, but Mendy's attempt went to the left of the post.
Addressing the media after the match, head coach Aris Caslib remarked, "The match itself speaks for the quality of the players." He added that he asked the bench before the match to step up, and they accomplished that.
Minniecon acknowledged that "It was a tough game. Things kind of fell our way."
Caslib's counterpart Noel Marcaida says, "We have to play two halves of quality football. That's how the game goes." He adds, "I think my players really did well in the second half. It just saddens me, because the players really worked hard heading into this game. And you can see how they performed in the second half that they really wanted to get the three points."
With the victory, FC Meralco Manila moves atop the Philippines Football League table with 30 points, two points ahead of Global Cebu FC, which moved past Kaya FC-Makati for second place with 28 points, thanks to their 2-1 come-from-behind victory against cellar dwellers Ilocos United FC.
Kaya is now in third place, still with 27 points. They host Ceres-Negros this Saturday at 4pm. At the same time, the Sparks will be headed to Binan to face Stallion Laguna FC.
NOTES:
Joaco Cañas' hamstring issue prevented the Spaniard from getting the start. Neil Dorimon took his place. Caslib went with Badelic instead of Ace Villanueva on goal.
Sparks have activated Anto Gonzales into playing duty, after serving more as an assistant coach during the earlier portion of the PFL campaign under Caslib. The current head coach of the University of the Philippines came in as a substitute.
Minniecon when asked about the penalty: "I told Simon Greatwich that I wanted it because I felt confident. So I took it."
This is Tahj's third time he was deemed as the Man of the Match this season for the Sparks.
Marcaida on the disallowed goal: "Is it really offside when the opponent's defender is the last man to touch that ball?"
Marcaida on the penalty non-call: "The referee can only decide based on what they see. And at the end of the day, their decision is always final."
The Aussie scored the first one in the 23rd minute, receiving a pass from Curt Dizon, who took advantage of a miscue from the visitors at midfield, and shooting it past Kaya keeper Ref Cuaresma from the right flank. His second turned out to be the game-winner, scoring from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute, after Alfred Osei fouled Dizon inside the area, forcing referee Steve Supresencia to point to the spot.
Early on, the Sparks had a chance to break the ice, but Connor Tacagni's header three minutes in went wide. The visitors had their first chance a couple of minutes later, but Woody Ugarte's attempt went over the bar. Before Minniecon broke through, the hosts did manage to have attempts from Milan Nikolic, Tacagni, and Daniel Gadia.
In the second half, Minniecon and Gadia had their chances to double things up, and Kenshiro Daniels could have leveled things at the hour mark but his free kick was just over the bar. Four minutes later, Jordan Mintah's header off a Miguel Tanton cross went directly towards Jun Badelic.
Eventually, the visitors do tie it, thanks to Mintah's header that deflected off Nikolic and entered the net after 80 minutes, setting up for the late dramatics that would take place.
Kaya thought they had the equalizer when Robert Lopez Mendy quicky responded to make it 2-2, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside. A few minutes later, a perceived foul on Eric Giganto that would have netted the visitors a penalty was not given, causing additional frustration. They did get a final opportunity to tie things up, but Mendy's attempt went to the left of the post.
Addressing the media after the match, head coach Aris Caslib remarked, "The match itself speaks for the quality of the players." He added that he asked the bench before the match to step up, and they accomplished that.
Minniecon acknowledged that "It was a tough game. Things kind of fell our way."
Caslib's counterpart Noel Marcaida says, "We have to play two halves of quality football. That's how the game goes." He adds, "I think my players really did well in the second half. It just saddens me, because the players really worked hard heading into this game. And you can see how they performed in the second half that they really wanted to get the three points."
With the victory, FC Meralco Manila moves atop the Philippines Football League table with 30 points, two points ahead of Global Cebu FC, which moved past Kaya FC-Makati for second place with 28 points, thanks to their 2-1 come-from-behind victory against cellar dwellers Ilocos United FC.
Kaya is now in third place, still with 27 points. They host Ceres-Negros this Saturday at 4pm. At the same time, the Sparks will be headed to Binan to face Stallion Laguna FC.
NOTES:
Joaco Cañas' hamstring issue prevented the Spaniard from getting the start. Neil Dorimon took his place. Caslib went with Badelic instead of Ace Villanueva on goal.
Sparks have activated Anto Gonzales into playing duty, after serving more as an assistant coach during the earlier portion of the PFL campaign under Caslib. The current head coach of the University of the Philippines came in as a substitute.
Minniecon when asked about the penalty: "I told Simon Greatwich that I wanted it because I felt confident. So I took it."
This is Tahj's third time he was deemed as the Man of the Match this season for the Sparks.
Marcaida on the disallowed goal: "Is it really offside when the opponent's defender is the last man to touch that ball?"
Marcaida on the penalty non-call: "The referee can only decide based on what they see. And at the end of the day, their decision is always final."
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