MANILA – Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo got a tough start in the 2021 AFC Champions League as they bowed down to BG Pathum United, 4-1, on Saturday night at the Pathum Thani Stadium in Thanyaburi, Thailand.
Kaya-Iloilo was on point defensively early in the match, with keeper Louie Casas thwarting two close hits from the Thais, but the latter eventually got into the scoring column at the 23rd minute-mark courtesy of Teerasil Dangda.
After Dangda’s hit, Kaya-Iloilo got a chance to tie the score, but Masanari Omura misfired his attempt. BG Pathum United doubled the lead before the half on Diogo Luis Santo’s conversion.
In the second half, Kaya’s Simone Rota was handed a red card for taking down BG Pathum United’s Santo.
The Thais then put the game away for good, with Dangda connecting his second goal at the 51st minute, before Santo scored eight minutes later.
However, Kaya-Iloilo secured that they will not go home empty-handed in their first-ever AFC Champions League match as Marwin Angeles scored a goal at the 81st-minute mark.
Meanwhile, the United City Football Club was forced to a 1-1 deadlock by China’s Beijing Guoan in the AFC Champions League group stage on Saturday night at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Stephan Schrock kicked off the festivity for the Philippine representatives with his 28th-minute conversion. The Chinese, however, bounced back in the second half with a goal from Liang Shaowen at the 73rd minute.
Kaya-Iloilo is set to face Vietnam’s Viettel Football Club on Tuesday, while the United City will battle South Korea’s Daegu FC./PN
