THE impressive showing of Kaya FC-Iloilo at the Copa Paulino Alcantara continued on Sunday after booking a spot in the final after defeating Stallion Laguna FC, 3-2, in their semifinal clash held at the Iloilo Sports Complex. It is something that the team said is very proud of, seeing it as fulfilment of what it had set out to do at tournament start.
Riding on the hat trick of Robert Lopez Mendy, Kaya nullified a valiant fight back by Stallion to book the win and earn its place in the championship match while also moving a step closer to winning it all and securing a spot in the 2019 AFC Cup.
Kaya is set to face Davao Aguilas FC, which won its own semifinal against JPV Marikina FC, 6-1, also on Sunday.
“With this win the road to AFC stays alive. I’m proud of our players. From the start of the game, we saw the intensity, the grit, and hunger to win the game,” said Iloilo head coach Noel Marcaida after their victory.
“Before the cup started, our main focus was to play this semifinal here in Iloilo. We were successful in that. We wanted the game here because we’re confident in front of our Ilonggo fans. It gives us the extra gas. They’re a part of this win in the semifinals. We thank everyone for always supporting us. We hope we see them in the final,” he added.
Senegalese Lopez Mendy got the scoring going in the fourth minute of the contest before finding the bottom of the net once again eight 11 minutes later.
Stallion though was undeterred by the early onslaught of the hosts, narrowing the gap, 2-1, in the 20th minute care of Fitch Arboleda.
It would continue to put pressure on Kaya after and was consequently rewarded when Carlo Polli levelled the count at 2-2 in the 43rd minute to make it a brand-new game heading into the break.
Boosted by its torrid charge back at the end of the opening half, Stallion came out of the second fold with more spring only to see the door shut on it by Kaya as the latter scored just two minutes after with the third goal of Mr. Lopez Mendy to make it 3-2.
The visiting side tried its best to make up for the goal and come back but Kaya would not allow it to, holding tough all the way to the end to secure the victory.
“All the credit goes to the boys. We had the desire to win this game and to play in the final. The objective is the AFC [Cup]. We got the job done today, but we still have one game to go. We have to focus 100% to win that game. It’s crucial for our season,” said Mr. Lopez Mendy, named player of the match after.
Prior to booking a spot in the Copa final, Kaya topped Group B with a 3-1-0 record to earn home field advantage in the semifinals against Stallion.
In the final, waiting for Kaya is Davao, which got four goals from Korean Kim Sungmin in its rout of JPV in the semis.
The Copa Paulino Alcantara final between Kaya and Davao is set for Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
