Kaya-Iloilo put up a valiant stand against defending Asian champion Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea in the 2021 AFC Champions League, but it was still handed a 3-0 defeat, Friday night at the Pathum Thani Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The outcome ensures Kaya still remains without a point in Group F while Ulsan Hyundai now has 9 points in three matches.
“I’m very proud of how hard the boys worked when we didn’t have the ball, but mostly a little bit frustrated. Maybe our lack of big game experience showed there, said coach Graham Harvey. “You play who’s in front of you, and I thought the boys did that probably for all but four moments in the game. Unfortunately for us, three of those moments they scored from.”
The Filipino side fell to a two-goal hole at the end of the first half. Forward Oh Sehun opened the scoring at the 12th minute from close range after his teammate Valeri Qazaishvili penetrated the Kaya box and laid it off for him to finish in close range. Sehun then deflected the ball into the back of the net off a set-piece at the 40th minute.
Come the second half, Qazaishvili added to Ulsan Hyundai’s tally to three goals at the 48th minute. The Georgian took advantage of Kaya’s inability to clear their lines and he performed a fine finish against goalie Louie Casas.
Kaya forward Kenshiro Daniels had two attempts at goal, which would have changed the game for the Filipino side but Ulsan Hyundai stopper Jo Hyeonwoo was on hand to deny both shots to keep the clean sheet.
The likes of Jarvey Gayoso, Fitch Arboleda, and Arnel Amita came on as substitutes in exchange for Jovin Bedic, Marco Casambre, who suffered a bad collision with Casas in preventing a fourth goal, and Marwin Angeles.
For its next match, Kaya goes up against Ulsan Hyundai once again. That fixture will be played on Monday at 6:00 PM (Manila time).
Kaya XI: Bedic ©, Angeles, Daniels, Fujii, Casambre, Mitchell, Daizo, De Bruycker, Rota, Casas (GK), Menzi.
Ulsan Hyundai XI: Valeri Qazaishvili, Kim Jihyun, Kim Minjun, Kim Sung Joon, Oh Seuhn, Jo Hyeonwoo (GK), Koh Myongjin, Kim Tae Hwan, Hong Chul, Lim Jong Eun, Kim Keehee ©.
