Kaya FC-Iloilo celebrates effort after big AFC Cup win over Home United FC
HELD to a draw in its 2019 AFC Cup debut, Kaya FCIloilo came back solid in its second game, lording it over Home United FC of Singapore, 5-0, in their Group H match on Wednesday at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City.
Came out strong right at the start, Kaya showed no letup throughout the match, boosted by braces from Darryl Roberts and Alfred Osei. Also scoring a goal was Joven Bedic.
Mr. Roberts did not waste much time putting Kaya on the board, scoring just two minutes into the match.
Mr. Bedic then joined the scoring parade in the 33rd minute before Mr. Roberts scored his second goal in the 37th minute to push the home side to a commanding 3-0 lead by the break.
Kaya put further pressure on Home United in the second half with Mr. Osei scoring back-to-back goals on the 49th and 55th minute of the contest.
From there it was all Kaya as they moved to the victory.
Playing the way they did, Kaya coach Noel Marcaida said credit should be given to the players for being go-getters and making things happen.
“We got an early wake-up call. Masanari Omura was able to stop an opportunity from Home United. That woke us up. We then accepted the challenge, created opportunities, and we scored goals,” said Noel Marcaida after the match.
The coach went on to say that the victory was for the entire team and their extended family.
“This victory really means a lot to us. Not only is it a gift for our boss, Santi Araneta, who celebrated his birthday two days ago, and for Mike Casas who celebrated yesterday, it’s for one of our players whose mom is in a critical situation,” said Mr. Marcaida.
For man of the match Roberts, the win was a good result for them after training hard in the lead-up to get their campaign going.
“This whole week we’ve been working hard in training, especially on set pieces. We just executed what was taught on the training pitch and for the first one it worked out well,” said Mr. Roberts.
The win put Kaya (1-10), with four points, on top of Group H along with PSM Makassar (1-1-0) of Indonesia.
Home United (0-1-1) and Lao Toyota FC of Laos (0-1-1) are in the bottom half of the standings.
Kaya faces PSM Makassar in a key match on April 2 in Bogor while Home United hosts Lao Toyota in Singapore on the same date. —