Kaya FC-Makati’s Second Half Flurry Falls Short Against Global Cebu

Two early headers and a late-game strike did the damage, as Kaya FC—Makati suffered their first loss in the Philippines Football League, 3-1, to Global Cebu. Robert Lopez Mendy’s penalty early in the second half almost led to a dramatic comeback, but despite several clear chances, the equalizer remained elusive. Sekou Syllah scored Global’s third, and his second of the game, in the match’s final minute.

“We expected a really tough game, but what we never expected is to concede two goals as early as 20 minutes in the first half,” said Kaya head coach Noel Marcaida after game, pertaining to Dennis Villanueva’s fifth-minute header, and Syllah’s exquisitely taken 18th-minute looper. Prior to those goals, it was actually Makati that started the brighter.

Kenshiro Daniels hit the back of the net six minutes into the contest, but his quickly taken free kick was disallowed. Robert Lopez Mendy then had a shot saved at the near post, after a quick counter attack. Once Global scored, however, the tide changed, and threatening opportunities dried up for Marcaida’s side. To add to the team’s woes, Antonio Ugarte was forced off with a hamstring injury, which prompted Eric Giganto to enter the match ahead of schedule. After the break, though, the match took a dramatic turn.

“First half, the aggressiveness wasn’t there,” said Noel. “Second half we played more aggressive and stepped up higher. We didn’t give them time to settle in the second half. We made sure that when we had the ball we kept it, played direct, and we put pressure on their backline.”

That pressure led to a Giganto shot that was adjudged to have struck a Global defender’s arm. Mendy’s resulting penalty halved Global’s advantage. Jovin Bedic had a powerful strike saved by Patrick Deyto shortly after. Kaya then put Cebu under immense pressure, with numerous balls flashing across the opposition’s six-yard box. Finally, Miguel Tanton dashed to the edge of the box, froze the defense with a clever delay, pushed a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Mendy, who was clean through. But the Senegalese forward blazed it over, and with that, went Kaya’s best chance to get back in the game.

“We had the chances. But you know, in the game, if you have those chances in the penalty box — wide open goal —  if you can’t convert it, you don’t deserve to win a game,” said Marcaida.

Compounding Makati’s misery, Jalsor Soriano was handed a straight red card for violent play. In the final minute of the game, with Kaya pushing everyone forward, Syllah broke free, rounded Zach Banzon, and slotted into an open net to seal the game.

“Both teams played well throughout the 90 minutes, but for us, we took advantage of the two goals in the first half,” said Global Cebu head coach Marjo Allado. “But the course of the game changed in the second half when that penalty was given by the referee. After that penalty, Kaya had a lot of chances, so we were lucky in the second half actually. We took advantage again after the red card, and when Yu Hoshide came in, he controlled the game.”

With the result, Global leapfrogs Kaya into second in the standings, with seven points from three games, with Makati now with one win, one draw, and one loss.