Kaya FC–Makati Denied Opening Day Win by Davao Aguilas

When Connor Tacagni headed in the second goal of the game, it seemed Kaya FC–Makati was on the verge of a comfortable victory to open the Philippines Football League season on Sunday. But a quick-fire brace from James Younghusband meant the points were ultimately shared at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex.

“One point is better than no point. It was a great match to start the season. There’s a lot of positive things, but also things that we need to work on,” said Kaya head coach Noel Marcaida. “I think we started well, the players were really working hard in the first half. We were able to set the tone early. In the second half, I think we gave them too much space, and they were able to play to their obvious strength, their height advantage.”

The Davao Aguilas had difficulty settling in front of their home crowd, and within 17 minutes of the opening whistle, were behind. New signing Connor Tacagni was vital to the move. The young forward collected the ball outside the opposition box, held off two defenders, and slid a pass to Jovin Bedic, who was hit in the process of shooting. While Bedic was down, the ball fell to Alfred Osei for an easy finish. 14 minutes later, Robert Lopez Mendy came close to doubling the lead. Released by Miguel Tanton’s through ball, the Senegalese forward was denied by a fine stop in a one-on-one against Nick O’Donnell.

“The first game is always difficult. We don’t know how they’re going to play, how they’re going to start. I think in the first half we dominated the game, set the tone early, put them under pressure. We got the goal. In the second half, we kind of removed our foot from the gas and gave them more space, and allowed them to play to their strength,” said Osei, who was named Man of the Match for his exceptional performance in midfield.

The second half started in perfect fashion for the visiting side. Within four minutes, Lopez Mendy had done well to create space on the right side of the opposition box, and delivered a pinpoint cross for Tacagni to head in. That seemed to wake the Aguilas up, though, as two minutes later they were on the score sheet. From a throw in, Kaya’s initial clearance went straight back to Davao. They then sent it wide to the right, and cut it back to James for the low finish. Six minutes later, the Aguilas were level. From a corner kick, Ref Cuaresma’s punch fell to a Davao player, who lifted the ball back into the box. With a crowd in front of him, Cuaresma couldn’t stop James from nodding in the equalizer. Osei and Tanton came close to restoring Kaya’s advantage, but in the end, the game finished level at 2-2.

“Unfortunately in the second half, I think Davao deserved a third goal. Kaya did well to defend when we did our substitutions to change the game. In the end, it was a good result,” said Davao head coach Marlon Maro.

“We’re disappointed that we didn’t get the three points, but fair play to Kaya, they’re always a tough battle, always competitive, and have some very talented players, and a very organized club. The first game of the season, it’s always going to be a bit shaky at the start. In the first half, maybe we struggled a little bit. But in the second half, coach calmed us down, and we showed great character to get back into it,” said James Younghusband after the match.

With a month before Kaya’s next assignment, the team has plenty of time to work on their shortcomings before taking on the defending champions in Bacolod.

“We have to be better at finishing off the game,” said Marcaida. “They (Davao) have a good rotation. They’re one of the teams that’s in contention for the league based on their performance earlier. But like I said, we take this point and begin working on areas we need to improve upon.”