Defending champions United City FC stayed of the Philippines Football League 2020 following their thumping 6-0 win over Mendiola FC at the PFF national training centre in Carmona, Cavite.
Spanish striker Bienvenido Maranon ran in a hattrick with a header in the 12th minute, a scorcher in the 25th and then a penalty at the end of the first half.
Senegalese strike partner Robert Mendy nailed in a brace (38th and 60th minute) and a Mike Ott penalty in the 52nd minute completed the rout to give United City their second win in two matches.
“We definitely played better than our last game (a 1-0 win over ADT) and I think that our rivals just gave up mentally after falling behind 4-0 in the first half,” said United City head coach Franklin Muescan.
On the other hand, Kaya-Iloilo FC kept up the pressure at the top of the standings with a close 1-0 win over the Azkals Development Team (ADT).
It was the second 1-0 win for Kaya in as many matches while for ADT, it was also their second identical 1-0 loss.
Kenshiro Daniels took advantage of a defensive lapse to score the only goal of the game in the 16th minute.
“Without Carlyle Mitchell we would not have won,” added Kaya Iloilo FC coach Yu Yoshide afterwards.
In the meantime, Maharlika Manila FC scored two goals in the second half to beat Stallion-Laguna FC 2-1.
Senegalese midfielder Ibrahim N’Dour gave Stallion-Laguna the lead after 28 minutes as Maharlika came back through Jose Montelibano (52nd minute) and Jeremy Theuer (74th minute) for the win.
“Words cannot express how happy I feel about this victory,” said Maharlika head coach Roxy Dorlas.
“One of the things that (team owner) Anton del Rosario told us when we formed this squad was to produce positive results and gain the respect of the big clubs and this is what we did.”
PHILIPPINES FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2020
RESULTS
Maharlika-Manila FC beat Stallion-Laguna FC 2-1
Kaya FC-Iloilo beat ADT 1-0
United City FC beat Mendiola FC 6-0
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Pictures courtesy #PFL
PHILIPPINES FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2020 Current Standings
| No | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| 1 | United City FC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| 2 | Kaya FC – Iloilo | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Maharlika FC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Stallion Laguna FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 5 | Azkals Development Team | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| 6 | Mendiola FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 0 |
