Bali, Indonesia — Kaya FC-Iloilo fell to Kedah Darul Aman FC on Monday night and were mathematically eliminated from qualification to the next round. Things went from bad to worse late in the second half, and the scoreline ballooned to the eventual 4-1 deficit as a result.
Iloilo suffered a heavy blow in the 20th minute when Carlyle Mitchell left the game due to injury. The big guy suffered a collision at midfield on a transition sequence around ten minutes prior, before he ultimately reached his limit and had to be helped off the pitch.
Kaya’s first shot on target came in the 28th minute when Robert Lopez Mendy fed Sandro Reyes at the left side of the box. The 19-year-old touched it through one defender’s legs, jumped over another, and drilled it in low.
The team as a whole performed well in the first half, showing better communication and effort than they did in the first game versus Cambodia’s Visakha. Despite losing the cornerstone of their defense in Mitchell, the boys did well to stay disciplined and maintain their shape—keeping the scoreline knotted up at halftime.
The match progressed largely the same for the start of the second period, until the Malaysian side successfully snuck in the opening goal and the metaphorical floodgates were opened.
A quick counter down the length of the right flank in the 57th minute saw the backline get beat, which left Kedah’s Fayadh Zulkifli open to tuck in a low cross to take the lead. (1-0)
Not long after, another counter in the 63rd minute saw midfielder Mahmoud Al-Mardi receive the final ball just inside the box and launch it past the outstretched hands of Quincy Kammeraad. (2-0)
At this point of the match, Kaya sent forward as many men as they could to try and turn things around, but they were made to pay for it dearly. Kedah lobbed the ball ahead to their forward Ronald Ngah, who turned on the jets and slid the ball into the bottom right corner in the 83rd minute. (3-0)
Iloilo were able to pull one back late in the game, getting on the board in the 86th minute. Ryo Fujii lifted the ball into the path of Jarvey Gayoso in stride, who then proceeded to bait a defender with his left, cut back to his right, and send in a missile that ricocheted off the keeper’s gloves and into the back of the net. This was both his first goal for Kaya FC and his first on the the AFC Cup stage. (3-1)
The Malaysian club would get the last laugh, however, as Fayadh broke free once again in the 93rd minute and converted a one-on-one chance to twist the knife just a little more. (4-1)
Audie Menzi came in for the injured Mitchell in the 20th minute, Jhanjhan Melliza and Eric Giganto checked in for Lopez Mendy and Shirmar Felongco in the 61st minute, while Arnel Amita and Jarvey Gayos relieved Oskari Kekkonen and Jovin Bedic in the 77th minute. Jovin and Oskari both made their ways into the referee’s book in the 11th and 48th minute, respectively.
The match was much closer than the scoreline would suggest, but as Kaya opened up to try and chase the game, Kedah punished the undermanned backline and Iloilo simply had no answer.
Kaya FC-Iloilo have one more chance to pick up points in this year’s AFC Cup Group Stage—they take on the hosts Bali United FC on Thursday, June 30, live on ElevenSports.com
