In the grander scheme of things, Marwin Angeles’s 81st-minute goal against Thai League 1 side BG Pathum United last Saturday was nothing but a footnote considering that Kaya-Iloilo suffered a 1-4 defeat in its 2021 AFC Champions League debut.
However, since Philippine football had no local club competing in any continental tournament a decade ago, witnessing a Filipino score in the continent’s biggest club tournament was a dream come true, especially for the fans of the country’s oldest existing team.
“A lot of things are going through my mind now but in the game, there was not too much to think (about). We were 4-0 down and the goal was just a consolation goal and… To be honest, as you can see also after the goal, I was not even celebrating,” said Angeles.
“Just get the ball into the middle and start playing again because, again, in my mind in that time was to make sure we could do at least a bit more than what we did in the first half. And, of course, after the game, I started realizing that was the first goal for a Filipino team. And it’s a huge honor to be here in this stage, and to score is even more.”
Unfortunately for Kaya, any high they experienced after knocking out Chinese team Shanghai Port in the preliminary round was extinguished. A rough start saw them concede four times to BG Pathum United, alongside going a man down after a red card to Carlyle Mitchell.
“It was a difficult game for us,” admitted the 30-year-old. “I didn’t expect that to be honest, the way it went, but I did things… In the first half, we were too low.
“We gave them too much space and time. And playing at this level, with this kind of players that we play against, we can’t give them time and space. And that’s what we did in the second half.”
Fatigue also came into play for Kaya in that match. They competed with Shanghai Port on June 23; that meant they only had two days of training and recovery before facing BG Pathum United.
While it shouldn’t be an excuse, it was still a major hurdle that everyone in the team had to face.
“We needed to recover as quickly as possible, and most probably the time we had wasn’t enough.
“That’s why I think in the first half, we tried to stay low and tried to not to press too much. Because I think if we did, we would have been finished in the first half. But again, in the second half, we were a bit braver. We tried to get into the ball a bit more and that’s what happened,” added the former Global player.
Kaya’s next opponent, Viettel of Vietnam, also suffered a defeat in its first match on the group stage. With both teams badly needing points to rejuvenate their respective campaigns, the match will definitely be an intense affair with no margin for error.
“We need to, for what I believe, press them. I think if we do so, they can make a lot of mistakes. Because if we let them also play and we sit low, and then there’s gonna be a difficult game. We have a couple of players who are gonna miss the game,” said the 5-foot-7 midfielder.
“Some because of the red card, the other because of tiredness, so it would depend on the coaches how they would set it up. But for me, in my opinion, we have to go play against the Vietnam team with a winning mentality. We cannot be here just to be here. Of course, we want to make some points and hopefully, we can get a win against Viettel.”
In a sense, the coaches, players, and other staff members of Kaya can simply feel content at making it into the group stage of the 2021 AFC Champions League.
Indeed, making it this far is already an achievement in itself. But falling into that trap is something unimaginable for them.
“All of us are not just here to be here. We want to go and win something.
“It was already a happy moment when we went through this stage. But again, we’re here and we want to make something out of it. And the experience is gonna be there, but try to win and draw, it would make something,” said the Venezia youth product.
On a personal note, Angeles has come a long way in his career in Philippine football.
From competing in the defunct United Football league to being the first Filipino goalscorer in the 2021 AFC Champions League, it has definitely been a fulfilling journey for him so far. But he still wants more success in the immediate future.
“It means a lot. I mean, again, it’s a dream come through, to be honest. It’s the highest tournament that any player can play definitely. And for me, coming almost nine years ago to play in the local competition in the Philippines and being in the biggest one in Asia… It means a lot,” said the Laos alumnus.
“I never thought, to be honest, (and) being here and playing against these kinds of teams… It’s a huge success and achievement for myself, for my family and the people who believe in me. Hopefully we can make another history, which is to win the first AFCCL game against the Vietnamese team.”
