MANILA – Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo leaned on their strong start to hold-off Stallion-Laguna Football Club, 2-1, in the 2022 Philippines Football League on Sunday at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.
Daizo Horikoshi and Ilonggo Jhan Jesus Melliza scored a goal each in the opening half as the Iloilo City-based football club extended its lead at the top of the table with 27 points behind nine wins and two defeats.
Horikoshi drew first blood for Kaya-Iloilo in the eighth minute. He drained a well-placed header from a beautiful cross by Marco Casambre. It was then followed by a conversion that hit the top of the net.
Stallion-Laguna, though, managed to cut Kaya-Iloilo’s advantage just before the halftime break via Kouichi Belgira’s strike behind the defense of goalkeeper Kenry Balobo at the 41st minute.
Kaya-Iloilo had a chance to widen the lead at the 66th minute after Fitch Arboleda was brought down by Stallion-Laguna’s Gabriel Silva but Robert Lopez Mendy misfired his penalty kick.
Kaya-Iloilo was hit with a huge blow at the 77th minute as Simone Rota was given a straight red card with a high boot at the expense of Stallion’s Alen Angeles but Stallion failed to take advantage of the situation.
Kaya-Iloilo head coach Yu Hoshide said that their third straight victory is a huge boost to the confidence of his wards as they hope to continue to widen their advantage on the top spot.
“The team’s morale has been growing even higher after the win,” Hoshide said. “It is very positive for the team now that all players are doing their roles well, not just in the game but even in training also.”
“We have a different lineup for every game because we base our decision on the results from training every day,” he added. “It is a real challenge for the players, but they’re all growing and training at a high intensity.”
With the tough defeat, Stallion-Laguna remained in fourth place in the standings with 15 points on the back of five wins and four losses, behind Dynamic Herb Cebu and United City Football Club./PN
