Kaya Dismantle Opponents

First seed Kaya pummeled late entrants Nomads FC, 10-1. Nomads was a late addition to the knockout stages. The entry of the former UFL club was only possible after the expulsion of Global FC.

It was a good start for the superstitious Kaya coach Fabien Lewis in the knockout stage — the coach and his assistant wore dress shirt and tie combos which he dubbed as his “Cup attire.”

Tishan Hanley led Kaya with four goals. OJ Porteria contributed with a hat-trick including a goal in the opening seconds of the match. Diego Barrera, Chris Greatwich, and skipper Aly Borromeo added a goal each for Kaya. Don Rabaya netted the consolation goal for Nomads, which finished the match with ten men — Christian Dahl was sent off in the 73rd minute.

It was another highly physical and verbal match, and Nomads coach Eric Antoine had his share of things he felt he needed to tell the referees. The coach was eventually sent to the bleachers in added time after he vehemently protested the three minutes tacked on to the end of the match.

Things further turned sour after the match when Kaya’s Jorge Butron and Nomads’ Ahmed Hwedi started a melee. Their teammates had to jump in and separate the pair. Both players were given straight red cards as a result of the fisticuffs. Lewis said he was disappointed with the incident and claimed that it was a “stupid move” on the part of Butron. The Kaya midfielder immediately apologized to his teammates in the post-match huddle. Hwedi accepted the red card without any excuses.

Check out the match photos HERE.

This post-match was originally posted on football.com.ph. You may read the full report and other Philippine football news and features here.