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| KC Cruz/UFL |
By Philip Maranan
MANILA--Loyola blasted past Pasargad, 7-1 to put its UFL Cup campaign back on track on Saturday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Alvaro Castiella and Tahj Minniecon each had their own hat-tricks as the Sparks recover from their opening day loss to Ceres to grab all three points in devastating fashion.
Despite having only three substitutes in its lineup, Loyola clearly
dominated the game as it began putting pressure on Pasargad in the first ten minutes.
Eventually, Loyola took the lead on the 15th
minute when Koichi Belgira found Castiella on a through ball and the latter beating Hayeson Pepito in a 1-on-1 opportunity.
Three minutes later, the men in orange doubled their
lead thanks to the long range strike of Minniecon that came off the boot of Jorrel Aristorenas
Relentless as ever, Loyola tripled their edge in the
22nd minute as Castiella bagged his brace off a cross from Belgira and scored from point blank range.
The Sparks then quadrupled their advantage against Pasargad in
the 39th minute as Minniecon got his own brace from inside the six-yard box.
Just before halftime, Pasargad got one back
thanks to Kevin De Castro, spoiling Tommy Trigo's chance of a clean sheet with a cool finish with his right boot.
However, Loyola imposed its will in the second half with three goals spanning ten minutes.
Six minutes into the restart, the club restored its four-goal edge thanks to Minniecon, who completed his hat-trick on his right boot from outside the box to make it 5-1.
Just three minutes later, the
dominating Loyola side added another goal as James Younghusband, who became a makeshift centerback due to Adam Mitter's suspension, volleyed home from a free kick that trickled past Pepito on the near post.
Barely a minute had passed, Loyola put the icing on the cake after Castiella fired a left footer inside the box for his own hat-trick.
Follow him on Twitter: @ipemaranan
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