Noel Marcaida Lauds “Strong Character” of 10-men Kaya Although disappointed not to get all three points, Noel Marcaida was impressed by the resilience of his players.

Despite being down a man for 70 minutes on Sunday night, Kaya FC–Iloilo found a way to peg Global Cebu back on three separate occasions to grab a hard earned draw at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

“Mixed emotions,” was Noel Marcaida’s immediate feeling after the match. “I feel sad because we could’ve gotten three points I think, especially with 11 players. But I’m proud and happy for my boys for playing hard and digging deep for most of the 90 minutes. We were down to 10 men but they showed strong character — great resilience to not just give up on getting the three points.”

Both Jovin Bedic and Robert Lopez Mendy had chances to snatch victory in the closing stages of the match, but in the end parity prevailed.

“I think the one point we have we deserved. Three points was our objective, but we have to give them credit, they (Global Cebu) played very well. It was hard for us with one man down but they played really well — agressive and wanting to win,” said Lopez Mendy, who scored twice in the second half.

“We got the one point in a good way, hopefully in the next game we’ll get all three,” he added.”

Kaya now face a long break before their final group match against JPV Marikina on October 17.

“We will maximize the 23 days off to recuperate and be 100% for our next game,” said Noel Marcaida, who is hoping to have the likes of Connor Tacagni, Serge Kaole, Janrick Soriano, Antonio Ugarte, and Jalsor Soriano back in the mix.