2021 ACL Group Stage: Ulsan Hyundai FC vs. Kaya FC-Iloilo Match 4 — David vs. Goliath Part II: Will Kaya redeem themselves in the rematch? Iloilo challenges Ulsan once more on Monday night.

Kaya FC-Iloilo have yet to secure points through their first three ACL Group Stage fixtures, with their last outing a 0-3 defeat in their first matchup against Ulsan Hyundai FC. Despite the results, the Iloilo side showed marked improvement in their effort against last year’s champions. Whether or not the match was truly a turning point for the club, Coach Graham Harvey notes the progress they’ve made so far in the tournament. The two clubs will face each other again on July 5th at the Leo Stadium in Bangkok, with kickoff scheduled for 6pm Philippine time.

“In terms of our performance and learning on this big stage, we’re happy with how we’re progressing,” Harvey stated. “We feel as though our game against Ulsan was certainly a progression for us. Defensively—without the ball—it felt like we were a lot more organized, and we’re hoping to make sure that in the next three games we acquire some points.”

Simone Rota has been an important figure in Kaya’s backline, helping anchor and organize the aforementioned defense. Unfortunately, he was sent off early in the second half against BG Pathum United and was unavailable for the Viettel FC match. His return against Ulsan was a contributing factor to the team’s improved form, and he remarked on the positives they’ve taken away from the first half of the slate.

“After three games we don’t have any points, but we come out of every single game bringing positive experience. We try to apply what Coach is teaching us about this level and bring it back to the Philippines,” proclaimed Rota.

He was then asked about Kaya’s defensive approach from a statistical standpoint. The team currently ranks 31st and 20th out of 40 teams in fouls and tackles, respectively. In his response, the center-back spoke candidly.

“Honestly, we don’t really look at the statistics because every game is different,” Simone admitted. “We just put in 100% effort every game. It’s not a secret that the level is different, but we are here to give our best and fight to win games.”

Coach Harvey added, “There’s some style of play issues there that dictate whether you make tackles or not. Ulsan kept the ball incredibly well, massive credit to them for that. They had 78% possession in that last game, so our opportunities to tackle have been fairly limited.”

“We’ve seen some statistics there from Ulsan, having five goals conceded in the last twelve Champions League games. They’re a tough team to get the ball off,” he acknowledged.

In previous comments, Harvey revealed his intention to continue fielding different lineups in an effort to maximize the big stage experience for each player. He continued that sentiment today, saying, “We’ll make some changes for tomorrow, we’ll stir it up a little bit. We’ve got a few players that will come into contention for tomorrow for sure.”

Other than Audie Menzi’s header against Shanghai Port and Marwin Angeles’ late goal against BG Pathum United, Kaya FC-Iloilo has been held scoreless throughout their time in Bangkok. Coach Graham noted the players’ extended time away from the pitch as a likely cause for the club’s lack of goals.

“There are a couple of reasons definitely. Firstly, I think that maybe we’ve lacked a little bit of match sharpness. I know we’ve played a few matches now and we’re starting to build, but certainly across the last 18 months the boys haven’t played an awful lot of football.”

He later added, “We actually did our video analysis today and showed some examples to the boys of how they can create chances. We’re certainly hopeful that going into the next three games, we do score a few more.”

The players will look to continue to find their form over the last half of the group stage. Coach Harvey ended the press conference on a high note, taking into consideration the team’s continued development over the course of the first three matches.

“We also think you have to look at the standard of opposition that we’re playing against. We’re not particularly happy with how we played against Viettel, I think we did ourselves justice last game against Ulsan,” Coach concluded.

“We did have chances to score, we just maybe need to be a little bit more ruthless. We’re certainly going into the last three games confident and positive to put away our chances.”