TEAM James settled its score against Team Phil as it rolled to a 4-1 victory in the Clear Dream Match 2 on a rainy Saturday night at the University of Makati pitch.
James Younghusband’s squad atoned for a 1-5 defeat against the same team last year as it pounced on the undermanned opposition that played with only 10 men most of the game after an early ejection of a teammate.
Having a world-class defender in Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro also aided Team James' cause and limited the scoring of Team Phil, which had the presence of Chelsea icon Dennis Wise.
Izzo El-Habib shone brightest for Team James with a brace on the way to being named best striker and MVP.
Three other Team James players received individual awards, with Yves Ashime copping best defender honors, Saba Garmaroudi best goalkeeper, and Misagh Bahadoran voted as Greenwich Favorite Player of the Game.
Chris Greatwich was the lone Team Phil individual awardee, earning the Best Midfielder award.
“We won, but the real winner is Philippine football and the beneficiaries,” James said as half of the proceeds of the charity all-star game will go to the victims of Typhoon Maring, with the other half to the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation.
“We would’ve won if we didn’t play with just ten men,” said Phil, whose team got crippled after teammate Rodrigue Nembot was sent off for a dangerous tackle barely 15 minutes into the game.
“At kung hindi pangit `yung weather,” the Filipino-British strike star added, trying his best to speak in Tagalog.
Clear brand manager Drew Copuyoc was pleased with the turnout of the fans, who braved the rain and still filled the stadium despite the heavy downpour.
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