MANILA – Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo found their tempo in the second half as they cruised to a 2-0 victory over Shan United in the 2020 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup Group Stage at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar last night.
Barotac Nuevo’s Jovin Bedic and Eric Giganto fired a goal each in the final 20 minutes for the Iloilo City-based football club to activate an early three point advantage in Group H.
Coming from a scoreless opening half, Kaya-Iloilo broke the deadlock in the 74th minute with Bedic converting a penalty kick from a foul absorbed by teammate Arnel Amita inside the box.
The lead was doubled at the 85th minute with Amita snatching the ball in midfield before driving into the box and laying it off to Giganto for a lovely finish.
It should have been in the third minute that Kaya nailed the lead, but Takumi Uesato’s rebound from a missed simple tap by Bedic was also misfired. Shan United was also close to taking a 1-0 edge, but the attempt in the 26th minute was deflected by Kaya’s goalkeeper Louie Casas.
“We’ve been preparing for almost five weeks. We’re very hungry heading into this game,” said Kaya Iloilo head coach Oliver Colina. “Shan United is a tough team here, with a lot of good players.”
Kaya Iloilo will plunge back to action on Feb. 26 when it faces Tampines Rovers of Singapore at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila./PN
