It was a tough loss for Kaya FC–Iloilo conceding five goals in their second outing of the AFC Champions League Group Stage. Heavy rain earlier in the evening had both teams dealing with a slippery pitch, but the Filipino side simply had no answer tonight for the Vietnamese champs, Viettel FC.
Viettel attacked relentlessly right from the opening whistle. Just two minutes into the match, a long ball made its way behind the defenders before being passed back to Hoang Duc Nguyen who scored from just outside the penalty area. Five minutes later, Brazilian striker Caique capitalized on an error in midfield—an unfortunate trend throughout the match—making it 2-0.
Soon after, Camelo Tacusalme and Marwin Angeles found their way into the referee’s book. Both were given yellow cards for late tackles in the seventh and eleventh minute, respectively. It took the rest of the first half for Kaya to work themselves into the game. They began reacting faster defensively, but were unable to create any meaningful attacks for the rest of the period.
Coming out of the break, Kaya actually showed promise to start the second half. However, Viettel struck again in the 49th minute with their captain Bui Tien Dung’s header from a corner. The boys continued to fight regardless, their first chance of the match coming when Eric Giganto fired in a cross intended for Daizo Horikoshi but was just out of reach.
The same couldn’t be said for Viettel’s counter in the 61st minute, as Caique was able to find a finish on a breakaway despite a tough angle. Four minutes later, the Vietnamese champs added their fifth and final goal with Vu Minh Tuan’s strike from the edge of the box.
Coach Graham Harvey used all five of his available substitutions in this match, first sending in Carlyle Mitchell for Masanari Omura at halftime. At the 62 minute mark, Jhan Melliza made his Kaya debut coming in for Marwin Angeles while Jovin Bedic replaced Eric Giganto on the frontline. Arnel Amita checked in for Daizo horikoshi in the 72nd minute and Shirmar Felongco came in for Camelo Tacusalme in the 83rd.
The subs brought some life back into the game, and their efforts almost came to fruition in added time. Arnel Amita lost his marker twice for back to back chances at goal, but both shots were palmed away. Tonight was just not Kaya’s night, and they have their work cut out for them before facing Ulsan Hyundai FC on Friday.
