KAYA Iloilo made a rousing debut at its home field at the Iloilo Sports Complex in Iloilo City as it defeated Davao San Miguel Aguilas 4-2 in the 2018 Philippines Football League on Sunday.
Robert Lopez Mendy finished with a hat-trick while Jordan Mintah made a conversion for Kaya, which moved up to second place with 16 points on five wins, a draw and two losses.
āWe were really looking forward to this game ā our first here in Iloilo,ā said Kaya head coach Noel Marcaida. āThe players were motivated by the support shown by football-loving Ilonggos.ā
Kaya drew first blood early in the match courtesy of Mintah from a feed by Ilonggo Jovin Bedic. But Mintah hurt his knee in a collision and was stretchered off in the next play.
With Aguilas missing in its attempts, Kaya managed to double the advantage just before halftime ā Lopez Mendy intercepted a pass by Aguilasā Nicholas O’Donnell for a close-range shot.
Davao was able to pull one back early in the second period courtesy of a header by James Younghusband. Iloilo quickly extended the lead with Lopez Mendy scoring a header from a free kick by Miguel Tanton.
Aguilas trimmed the deficit anew 2-3 in the 69th minute with Takashi Odawara converting from a corner kick. Kaya raised the advantage after Lopez Mendy scored on a header from a Tanton free kick.
Davao Aguilas dropped to third place with 14 points on four victories, two draws and three defeats./PN
