It came down to the wire, but Kaya FC-Iloilo walked away the victors in a nail-biter Semifinal against Dynamic Herb Cebu FC. The recently-formed club gave the 2018 Champs a run for their money, posing the biggest challenge they’ve faced so far in the competition. However, the Captain came through in the end and sealed the win for his squad. Jovin Bedic converted a late penalty in the game’s dying minutes, ensuring Iloilo triumphed over Cebu in the Visayan battle.
One could tell from the opening whistle that the players were in for a physical 90 minutes. The first foul was called under a minute from kickoff, and each side ended the first half with two of their players given yellow cards. Nevertheless, it was an effective approach by Dynamic Herb to keep Kaya off their game for the majority of the match.
Throughout the first half, Cebu made a point to go after the space between their midfield and backline. Kaya’s early attempts to build up were often disrupted by pressure, and their passes seemed to lack the sharpness they had in prior fixtures. Dynamic Herb were content to sit back and let the ball come to them, waiting for even the smallest mistake to trigger quick counters before dropping back and walling up.
Things didn’t get much better immediately after the break, for Kaya gave away a corner as soon as the second half started. Cebu’s Sendra connected cleanly with a header on-goal, but Mike Casas read it perfectly and made a fantastic save. The sudden danger seemed to wake the Iloilo side up, and they started to regain control of the pace not long after.
With under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the match looked destined for extra time. Everything changed, however, in the 84th minute. Shirmar Felongco’s cross found Daizo Horikoshi inside the 18-yard box, after which the ball popped up and made contact with the arm of Cebu’s Baris Tasci. Penalty. Not letting the golden chance slip away, Jovin Bedic stepped up to the penalty spot with the game on the line. Cool, calm, and collected, the Captain sent former teammate Ace Villanueva the wrong way and buried the ball into the back of the net. At last the stalemate was broken, and Kaya ran out the rest of the clock to secure their ticket to the Copa Paulino Alcantara Final.
Three players made their way into the referee’s book in this match—Arnel Amita got booked in the 21st minute, Ryo Fujii in the 42nd, and Shirmar Felongco late in the 81st. Three substitutions were made of the available five —Marwin Angeles came in for Arnel at the half-time break in an effort to inject creativity and stabilize the midfield’s passing, Shirmar checked into the game in the 64th for Audie Menzi who had been playing below his standards to that point, and Eric Giganto relieved Kenshiro Daniels in the 91st to close out the match.
For the first time since the frantic opening minutes of the first match, Iloilo seemed unable to find their rhythm and get into their usual fluid style of play. The players kept grinding however—staying patient, fending off counters, and never giving Cebu’s defense a chance to rest. Their persistence finally paid off when they earned the late penalty, and the Captain’s heroics brought it all home.
