Anton Ugarte scored the solitary goal at the 48th minute as Kaya Football Club defeated Singaporean club Balestier Khalsa Football Club to win their second straight 2016 Asian Football Confederation Cup match at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Taguig. It was another hard fought win for Kaya as their previous game, against Hong Kong team New Radiant Sports Club, was a 1-0 win decided late into stoppage time by an OJ Porteria goal.
Unsurprisingly, it was Kaya who dominated possession and created more chances in the first half. Balestier simply held back and waited for the chance to launch a counterattack, content to take a point back with them to Singapore. Kaya constantly probed the Balestier defense but the former’s finishing prevented them from scoring.
Ugarte signaled Kaya’s attacking intent early in the game when he penetrated against the Balestier backline but his layoff to Kenshiro Daniels went over. Alfred Osei and Jovin Bedic then had shots but both failed to test Balestier goalkeeper Zaiful Abdullah. Abdullah proved to be a source of frustration as he easily caught all that Kaya mustered against him by Miguel Tanton and Daniels.
If there was one tangible improvement Kaya had compared to their previous game, it was the fact that their attack had more incision in it. Kaya moved the ball wide in order to penetrate the Balestier defense. However, all those plays came to naught as the Balestier defense held firm. Perhaps Bedic should have scored the opening goal after a cross came his way but he could only shoot wide. Porteria, in a more central position, was a handful for Balestier but he was kept at arms length by the opposing defenders.
Balestier rarely threatened Kaya in the first half, Save for a free kick by Muhammad Ayob, Kaya goalkeeper Matthew Acton was a virtual spectator in that period. A speculative effort from way out by Muhammad Zainal tried to test Acton but the latter was in full control.
Kaya continuously pushed to find a goal before the break. Osei shot wide and then Porteria should have scored after the ball was crossed to him by Tanton in front of the Balestier goal but his shot was too tame and Abdullah calmly collected it. It finished goalless at the break with Balestier the happier of the two teams.
Just three minutes into the second half, however, Kaya got the goal their attacking play deserved. The ball was fed to Ugarte near the edge of the box and he turned around to deliver a shot that landed at the bottom corner at the 48th minute. Relief was evident with the Kaya players and coaches while the fans who watched enjoyed a much needed goal. Daniels could have doubled the lead a few minutes later but Abdullah, again, prevented what should have been a second goal.
At 0-1 down, Balestier had no choice but to attack the Kaya goal in order to at least save a point. Balestier won two free kicks in Kaya’s half and both were taken by Ayob and, but Kaya’s defense cleared the danger on both occasions. Balestier even demonstrated that the side was capable of some intricate attacking play. Some clever passing allowed Ayob a chance on goal but he shot well over. The best chance of Balestier came form substitute Jamil Ali but Acton produced a wonderful save to keep Kaya up 1-0.
Fatigue crept in late in the game for Kaya and they were forced to sit back and defend. However, Kaya still managed to attack and should have put the game to bed. Ugarte had a shot parried away by Abdullah and the latter made sure no one could follow it up with his quick reaction. Daniels then dribbled into the Balastier box and crossed towards Ugarte but Abdullah prevented the header from going in. Another wasted opportunity for Kaya came when Daniels back heel pass played Porteria through on goal but pressure from Balastier’s defenders forced him to shoot wide.
Balastier had most of the possession in the last ten minutes of the match as Kaya was just happy to clear the ball at every opportunity. Save for a corner and a Zulkiffli Hassim shot wide, Balastier didn’t really test Acton as much as they needed to late in the game. Kaya then deservedly held on for three valuable points n their 2016 AFC Cup campaign.
Kaya coach Joel Villarino was pleased with the result after the match and looked forward to their next game. Villarino said, “We have to keep out composure. We don’t want to talk about it. We just want to focus every game.” When asked about Ugarte’s goal, Villarino emphatically replied, “Unbelievable. Unbelievable.” He added, “Talagang kahapon pa lang lahat sila determinado.” He then said he and his team was happy with their haul of 6 points in three games. “Mababa man kailgayahan namin”, he joked.
The result left Kaya on top of Group F with 6 points with Balestier at 2nd place with 4 points. Both teams will have a rematch on April 12 at Balastier’s home ground in Singapore.
