Osei’s Stoppage Time Rocket Hands Kaya FC–Iloilo Dramatic Win Over Davao Aguilas
Davao Aguilas 3-4 Kaya FC–Iloilo
Rizal Memorial Stadium
June 23, 2018; Manila — In their final Philippines Football League encounter this season, Kaya FC–Iloilo and the Davao Aguilas battled to another goal-filled, 90-minute rollercoaster of emotions. In the end, Alfred Osei’s stoppage time rocket ensured Kaya took maximum points in a 4-3 thriller.
Eager to bounce back from Wednesday’s defeat, Iloilo got off to the perfect start. Just moments after Jovin Bedic struck the underside of the crossbar, Robert Lopez Mendy lifted Janrick Soriano’s long ball over the onrushing goalkeeper, to open the scoring four minutes in.
The lead didn’t last long though. Just like in Wednesday’s meeting, Phil Younghusband teed up Sung Min Kim for a headed goal. Davao then piled on the pressure, forcing Ref Cuaresma into a pair of close range saves. But just as the Aguilas looked destined for the go-ahead, Alfred Osei retook the lead for Iloilo. Right before half-time, Ronilo Bayan Jr. spilled a free kick delivery straight into the path of the Ghanaian midfielder, who gratefully tucked away the gift.
Buoyed by their advantage, Kaya emerged in the second half looking confident. Shortly after the hour-mark, on a breakaway on the left flank, Jovin Bedic expertly played in Lopez Mendy for an easy finish, making it 3-1. The points looked secure at that point, but Davao had other plans.
13 minutes from time, James Younghusband halved the advantage with a header from close range, setting up a frantic finish. In the 90th minute, he looked set to be the hero for the Aguilas. Given room outside Iloilo’s box, he fired a low drive into the bottom corner to make it 3-3. With only stoppage time remaining, a draw seemed inevitable. Alfred Osei, however, had the final word.
From several meters out of Davao’s box, Alfred was given room to unleash a thunderbolt of a shot that wrong-footed the keeper. The wonder strike in the 92nd minute settled the dramatic contest, giving Kaya their third win over Davao this season, to go along with one draw and one loss in five league meetings. The seven-goal thriller made it a staggering 24 goals between the two teams this season.
“The result shows how much we wanted that game. When they equalized, we were hungrier to get that goal again,” said Kaya head coach Noel Marcaida. “The players really worked hard. They had that big heart in finishing the game and got the three points. I’m really proud of my boys.”
The victory pushed Kaya FC–Iloilo to 26 points from 14 games, while Davao remain at 23 points after 16 outings.
“We took our foot off the gas a little bit and it nearly cost us. Davao is a quality side and we take nothing away from them. It was a very difficult game,” said Man of the Match Alfred Osei.
“As we’re always told in training, we can only say the game is over when the whistle blows. We always have that fighting spirit in Kaya, so for me [after Younghusband’s equalizer] it wasn’t the end. When that ball went to me, it’s like, ‘I’m going to hit this one as hard as I can.’ It went in. All credit goes to my coaches and teammates. We made this happen. We made this happen.”
