Socceroo halts Dolphins, nears UFL sweep

MANILA, Philippines - Team Socceroo overcame an early defensive breakdown as it overpowered Dolphins United FC, 4-1, to move two wins away from sweeping the Second Division of the United Football League at the McKinley Hill grounds in Taguig City Sunday night.

Trailing early on a second minute rocket by Jerome Cuyos, Socceroo bounced back strong behind Korean Jeon Shink Seok and Maurice de Leon, who scored on the 10th and 28th, respectively, to shove the team to a 2-1 lead at halftime.

Lee Jeong Woo and Cha Won Jae then took over and blasted two goals in a two-minute stretch while holding their rivals to a scoreless second half stint to run away with the victory.

It was Socceroo’s 14th straight win as it pulled away from the pack with 42 points, 14 clear of Union Internacional Manila’s 28.

Socceroo had actually clinched the division title as well as an automatic promotion to the elite First Division as early as two weeks ago but it seeks to sweep its way to the championship.

Lee’s rocket was his 12th overall as he overtook Cuyos, who has 11, for the most number of goals in the division while Jeon moved into joint third with Forza FC’s Dibi Pascal with eight.

Dolphins United remained second to last with 10 match points on three victories and a draw against 10 losses.