James Younghusband struck a second-half goal to propel Meralco-Manila past JPV-Marikina, 2-1, Saturday and extend its lead in the Philippines Football League at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Younghusband headed home the winner off a throw-in by substitute Tyler Matas in the 67th minute, giving the host Sparks the much-needed three points while snapping JPV’s five-game winning streak.
Meralco improved to 23 points, five clear of JPV, after scoring its second straight win over the Marikina outfit this season.
The Sparks took the lead with the help of JPV’s Masaki Yanagawa, who scored an own goal in the 23rd.
But JPV immediately cancelled that miscue when Satoshi Otomo beat Meralco goalie Junjun Badelic to tie the match five minutes later.
In the first game, Ceres-Negros pounced on Ilocos United right from the beginning and cruised to a 7-0 victory at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.
Ceres improved to 16 points after bouncing back from a frustrating 1-0 loss to Global-Cebu Wednesday at the Cebu City Sports Center. (Jonas Terrado)
