Lopez, Pachanga decimate Army FC

MANILA, Philippines - Sub Marcus Philip Lopez struck late in the game as PachangaDiliman repulsed a 10-man Army FC side, 3-2, to wheel back into contention in Division 1 of the United Football League at the McKinley Hill grounds in Taguig Saturday night.

Subbing for Jay Eusebio, Lopez scored on the 84th, shattering a 2-2 count and lifting the PachangaDiliman booters to victory, their fifth against four losses for joint fourth with Kaya FC with 15 match points.

Nestorio Margarse, Jr. blasted a 66th minute rocket to tie the count at 2 as the Army looked headed for a draw despite playing with just 10 men following the ejection of former Azkals member Roel Gener, who was assessed a red card on the 50th.

Meliton Pelayo scored on the 41st to give Army a 1-0 lead at halftime. But Gener was tossed out, decimating Army’s defensive rotation.

Ian Anthony Mariano and Jason Cunliffe, who came in for Gerardo Valmayor III and John Edward Rances, respectively, cashed in on Gener’s ouster and uncorked two goals in a six-minute stretch as PachangaDiliman lee, 2-1.

The Armymen fell to their seventh defeat against a win and a draw for four points, just a rung ahead of last placed Air Force FC, which lost its first nine games.

In the lone Division 2 match, Union Internacional Manila survived Cimarron FC’s fightback and eked out a pulsating 3-2 win to move up to solo second with 17 points on five wins and two draws against a loss.

Ivan Meilan unleashed a brace – one on the ninth and the other on 32nd – before Ebenezer Owusu put on the finishing touches to help seal it for the UIM, which now sits just four points behind current leader Team Socceroo, which is comfortably perched at the helm with an unblemished record of seven wins or 21 points.

Cimarron was carried through by Eric Yosse, who struck on the 82nd and on the fourth minute of injury time to keep his team on the game but didn’t have enough time to turn things around.

It fell to 3-5 for nine points.