MANILA – Kaya Iloilo recovered from an early deficit to beat JPV Marikina 3-1 in the 2018 Philippines Football League on Wednesday at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.
Robert Lopez-Mendy fired two goals while Connor Tacagni added another conversion for Kaya as they completed their five-game sweep of JPV this conference.
JPV entered the scoring column as early as the seventh minute as Ilonggo John Celiz slotted the ball into the side netting. Kaya attempted to equalize but tries by Tacagni and Jayson Panhay were wide.
In the 31st minute Kaya caught JPV’s defense napping as Tacagni slotted the ball from a missed attempt by Eric Giganto. Both teams struggled with their attempts since then for a 1-1 draw at the half.
Drought continued for both teams in the second half until Kaya broke the deadlock in the 77th minute with Lopez-Mendy running past the JPV goalkeeper for an easy goal.
Kaya sealed the victory for good three minutes later as Lopez-Mendy converted a penalty kick after being fouled by JPV.
“It’s a good thing we were able to secure the second spot early,” said Kaya head coach Noel Marcaida. “I was able to experiment with our lineup up on the floor and at the same time give minutes to our other players.”
With 46 points on 14 wins, four draws and six losses, Kaya fortified its hold of the second place in the standings, JPV is on fifth place with 20 points on seven wins, two draw and 16 losses./PN
