PFL: Kaya FC-Iloilo in big win; Ceres, Stallion draw
THE third season of the Philippines Football League (PFL) unfurled on Saturday with a double-header at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium that churned out a mixed bag of results.
Kaya FC-Iloilo was a 4-0 winner over Green Archers United FC in the season-opener at 4 p.m. with defending champion Ceres-Negros FC and Stallion Laguna FC fighting to a draw in the 7 p.m. night cap.
The new season of the PFL took over from the controversy-marred and short-lived Philippine Premier League (PPL) under which local club football competition was supposedly to be played beginning this year.
But the PPL did not pan out as expected across the board, prompting the Philippine Football Federation to pull out of its agreement with the PPL operators and revert to the PFL.
The PPL only had one match date played on April 27.
On Saturday, Kaya was in its element, led by Ghanaian forward Jordan Mintah who tallied a hat trick to lead his team to its first victory of the season.
Mr. Mintah put Kaya on the board just two minutes into the contest off a pass from teammate Shirmar Felongco.
He then doubled their lead in the 18th minute before completing his hat trick just before the break in the 44th minute to help Kaya to a commanding 3-0 lead by halftime.
In the second half, the Iloilo-based team kept up the pressure on its opponent, scoring another goal in the 58th minute care of Jayson Panhay which all but sealed the victory for Kaya.
Producing the go-getting kind of play they had, Kaya coach Noel Marcaida said it bodes well for them moving forward in the tournament which is scheduled to run until November.
“If we keep playing this way we can go far. I’m happy with the three points to start the league. It’s a great result and a clean sheet. Moving forward, we need to look to try to finish games the way we start,” said Mr. Marcaida postgame.
Kaya next plays on Wednesday against Stallion.
Meanwhile in the second game, Ceres and Stallion fought to an eventful 2-2 contest.
Stallion had early control of the match, 2-1, off a goal from Abou Sy and an own goal from Ceres, by the halfway point.
But the “Busmen” were undeterred by it and came out aggressive to begin the second half.
Their efforts paid immediate dividends as Bienvenido Maranon levelled the count at 2-2 in the 52nd minute.
The two teams tried to go for the go-ahead the rest of the way but none would come en route to the two teams settling for a point each.
The newly opened PFL season will be double round robin and feature home-and-away matches. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
