Kaya moves to solo second with win over Stallion
KAYA FC-Makati claimed solo second place in the Philippines Football League (PFL) after beating Stallion Laguna FC, 1-0, in their Sunday fixture at the University of Makati Stadium.
Towed by the first- half goal of Marwin Angeles, Kaya (3-1-1) won its third straight game to notch 10 points in five games, just two points behind league-leading FC Meralco Manila (4-0-0).
Kaya dictated much of the pace of the match, thrusting itself to several scoring chances early to put pressure on Stallion.
Breakthrough came through for Kaya in the 40th minute when Mr. Angeles struck with a leftfoot goal that went past the Stallion defense.
The Laguna-based team tried to get back the goal it surrendered with spirited play in the second half, testing Kaya’s defense with a number of scoring opportunities. But Kaya goalkeeper Zach Banzon proved up to the challenge, holding the fort for his team en route to another clean sheet.
Unfortunately for Kaya, it will miss the services of Miguel Tanton in its next game after the player got a red card late in the match after meriting two yellow cards in succession.
“The second half, we had a lot of players struggling,” said Kaya head coach Noel Marcaida.
“We have to address it as a team because it’s the third consecutive game where we really struggled in the second half. But we’re happy we got three points in this game, and we’re looking forward to the long break before the Meralco Manila game [on June 17],” he added. With the loss, Stallion, for its part, dropped to 0-1- 3 and one point, currently at the bottom of the eight-team field. It was also the second consecutive loss for the club.
Meanwhile, also coming out victorious last Sunday was JPV Marikina FC, defeating Ilocos United FC, 2-0, to thrust itself to third place with a 3- 0- 2 record and nine points.
Ilocos United, on the other end, slumped to 0- 1- 3 and a point following its latest loss.