Kaya Ends First Round with Win Over Loyola Meralco

Ten-man Kaya FC pulled off a defensive masterclass to beat bitter rivals Loyola Meralco Sparks, 1–0, in the penultimate day of the United Football League first round on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Robert Lopez-Mendy’s winner in the eighth minute gave Kaya the full three points to finish the first round in fifth place with 21 points.

Going into the match, Kaya were already written out of the title race. The LBC-backed squad suffered two straight losses, to JP Voltes FC and Ceres-La Salle FC, and the results had dampened the mood of the team.

“We’ve had a difficult couple of weeks,” said Kaya coach Chris Greatwich. “First of all, JP Voltes are a tough side and people gave us flak from the loss. Against Ceres, they were in tip top form and were fantastic on the day. Sometimes you have to give credit to your opponents.”

It was also a tough start for Kaya. Junior Muñoz suffered a broken nose five minutes into the match and had to be replaced by Janrick Soriano. The bad start did not last long as Kaya took the lead three minutes later.

Kaya’s set piece in the box paid dividends as Miguel Tanton’s corner found Lopez-Mendy wide open in the box. The Senegalese striker rushed in for the header past Sparks keeper Guillherme Hasegawa to make it 1–0.

The Sparks were caught off guard by the early deficit but soon gathered momentum in the search of an equalizer. Their best chance in the half came in the 41st minute. Kouichi Belgira went for a chip and had Matthew Acton beaten, however Masanari Omura cleared the ball off the line at the last second to preserve the scoreline.

Disaster struck for Kaya in the 61st minute as Lopez-Mendy was given his marching orders. The forward was sent off for a second offense on Joaquin Cañas. With the man advantage, the Sparks piled on the pressure while Kaya sat back in defense.

Phil Younghusband came the closest for the Sparks five minutes from time. The forward already caught Acton off his line, but Alfred Osei pulled off a match-saving off-the-line block. Eddie Mallari and substitute Alvaro Castiella also saw their chances saved by Acton.

“Our boys didnt lose their enthusiasm and attitude in training for the past two weeks and they hadn’t let the (past results) bring them down and the combination of that was the performance today,” said Greatwich after the match. “The whole collective defensive effort was incredible today.”

View match photos here.

This postmatch article was originally posted on football.com.ph. You may read the full report and other Philippine football news and features here.

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