Jovin Bedic and Kaya-Iloilo turned it up notches higher and proved their regional pedigree with a resounding rout of Mendiola 1991, 6-0, en route to securing their berth in the semifinals of the 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara, Wednesday at the PFF Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.
The AFC Champions League debutant virtually sealed the game by the halftime whistle as they plucked three of their goals in the first period.
Kaya started strong after eventually breaking through Mendiola’s defense at the 10th minute.
Jovin Bedic, the 2018 winners’ skipper, took advantage of a failed clearance off Mendiola’s Miggy Clarino and shot it past Michael Asong for the go-ahead goal.
The Kaya captain then doubled his output for the day at the 35th minute, finishing on the individual effort of teammate Daizo Horikoshi. The Japanese forward found himself near the byline and kept the ball in play, before flicking the ball for Bedic to kick in.
Another mistake from Mendiola at the 40th minute, this time off the restart, resulted in the third goal with Ryo Fujii catching Asong off his line and guard with a long-range strike.
The second half saw Mendiola stringing some passes together, only for Kaya to disrupt the passing lanes. Eventually, another goal came from the latter, taking advantage of the counterattack.
Horikoshi found Kenshiro Daniels at the 63rd minute inside the penalty box, and the former Azkals standout had some time to control the ball before drilling it into the net for his side’s fourth of the match and his first of the Cup.
Horikoshi could have gotten his own goal with 20 minutes left in the match, but he could not time a pass from Bedic properly. Nonetheless, the Japanese forward finally got his well-deserved goal at the 84th minute with a lovely run into the box.
Trinidadian starter Carlyle Mitchell put on the finishing touches with a sixth goal for Kaya at the second-half added time.
Coach Yu Hoshide was pleased with the squad’s second win and said, “The players did well. Game by game, we’re getting even better. So in the next game, we look to still do better.”
Kaya (2-0-0; 6 points) will take on the loser of the match between PFL debutant Dynamic Herb Cebu FC and Stallion Laguna FC later in the day.
On the other hand, Mendiola (0-0-1; 3 points, -6 on goal difference) will need to win against the Azkals Development Team (0-0-1; 3 points and -2 on GD) in their final match of the group phase on November 13 at 4 p.m. in order to join Kaya in the semifinals.
Kaya FC – Bedic (C), Casas (GK), Daniels, Mitchell, Menzi, De Bruycker, Amita, Omura, Horikoshi, Fujii, Bedic
Mendiola ’91 – Flores (C), Asong (GK), Polinag, Clarino, Crestal, Semblante, Ashley, Bricenio, Hajimadhi, Altiche, Colasito
