Defending champions Kaya FC pulled off two goals in the last 20 minutes of the match as they came from behind to stun rivals Loyola Meralco Sparks, 2-1, and moved one step closer to another AFC Cup berth, late Saturday evening at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
The orange-shirts threatened to break the deadlock early on in the first half but the first attempt of James Younghusband went straight to Kaya goalkeeper Miguel Acton. This, however, just fueled the Loyola attack even more as they continually applied the pressure. Several incursions disrupted the Kaya defense, only the Sparks were not able to put one into the onion bag.
The 2016 AFC Cup participants had their turn to score with their attempts on the counter-attack, but it was Loyola’s turn this time to stifle the offense of the former. At the 24th minute, Kaya almost took the opening goal in a goal-mouth scramble, only Anton Ugarte could not put his header into the goal. Ten minutes after, the black-shirts had a good build-up play, which was unfortunately wasted as Robert Lopez-Mendy’s shot was too strong.
It was a perpetual battle in the midfield as both teams searched for that elusive goal. Loyola’s frequent attempts into their attacking third finally bore fruit at the 37th minute when Kaya conceded a free kick on a dangerous area. Younghusband would not be denied this time as he finished the delivery with a header past Acton for the first goal of the game.
Loyola almost doubled the lead going into the halftime break but Acton this time collected the ball before an orange-shirt even got to it. The halftime whistle was sounded with Loyola hanging on a slim 1-0 advantage.
The second half remained the same as the Sparks continually broke into the defense of Kaya. If not for the heads-up defending of the defending titlists Kaya, the challengers would be up with at least another goal. With urgency, the black-shirts finally found some room to operate and turned the match around. At the 58th minute, OJ Porteria found some space and weaved through inside the box but Tomas Trigo was there to deny the attempt.
Both teams leaned on their bench to inject some energy into their campaign, as midfielders Curt Dizon and Tahj Minnecon, and Kenshiro Daniels, went into the game for the Sparks and Kaya, respectively. The complexion of the game immediately changed and it was the Loyola substitutes who almost grabbed the lead back, but the defense of Kaya stopped the attack once more.
After this crucial defensive stop, Kaya turned to their counter attack. Alvaro Castiella beat two defenders, but his layoff ends in the hands of Trigo. The attack was not completely stopped, however, as Loyola was forced to clear the ball for a corner. At the 73rd minute, Masanari Omura met the corner kick with his head and placed the ball into the goal for the equalizer.
This goal fired up the reigning champs, as they finally got some second-wind on the attack. Loyola tried to scour on defense to delay their opponents, only a foul was whistled as Miguel Tanton fell into the ground. With the free kick just on top of the box, the Azkals debutant sorely missed his attempt and hit it over the bar.
With the match threatening to go to extra time, Kaya searched for the game-winning goal. Finding himself unmarked, Lopez-Mendy would not miss on his fourth attempt and shot a screamer deep into the 90th minute for the possible winner. Five minutes into the stoppage time, Loyola desperately moved for an equalizer but Kaya remained steadfast and celebrated another late-game strike victory.
Man of the Match Lopez-Mendy was pleased that he was able to finish the attack after missing thrice throughout the match. The striker also shared the atmosphere in their dugout at halftime. “The coach was very mad. I can understand that. We could have won the game in the first half,” he said. The team was pleased that they were able to pull through and snatched the victory.
The defending champions Kaya FC will take on the winner of the Ceres-La Salle FC–Forza FC Last Eight outing for the semifinals, while Loyola Meralco Sparks FC will battle against the losing squad of that fixture.
