Kaya FC–Iloilo Fire Three Past Green Archers United in Philippine Premier League’s TV Debut
Green Archers United 0-3 Kaya FC–Iloilo
Saturday, April 27, 2019 | 7:15pm
Rizal Memorial Stadium
Kaya FC–Iloilo ushered in Philippine club football’s return to live television on Saturday night with a solid 3-0 victory over Green Archers United at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Goals from homegrown talents Arnel Amita, Jovin Bedic, and Yannick Tuason did the damage in Kaya’s Philippine Premier League debut, providing an ideal springboard for the club’s return to AFC Cup action on April 30.
“The boys really worked hard. The first 20 minutes dictated the whole 90 minutes,” said Iloilo head coach Noel Marcaida after the game.
Kaya didn’t take long to open the scoring. 13 minutes into the match, Shirmar Felongco swung in a ball into the box from the left side, which Darryl Roberts cushioned for Arnel Amita to calmly curl into the net. The goal was the young midfielder’s first for the club. Shortly after, Jovin Bedic chested and smashed Yannick Tuason’s clever ball to double the advantage.
While the majority of the match saw Kaya FC–Iloilo dominate possession and dictate the tempo, a third was elusive until the 79th minute. Masanari Omura picked off a pass inside Kaya’s half and fed Bedic in midfield. The captain then dinked the ball over Green Archers’ defense to release Jordan Mintah, who peeled away and centered the ball for Tuason to volley home.
Green Archers United threatened through John Celiz late on, but in the end, Ace Villanueva preserved a clean sheet in his return to the starting XI.
“We just wanted to make sure that we keep the momentum of good games ahead of our return to the AFC Cup,” said Man of the Match Jovin Bedic, who scored his fourth goal of 2019. “It was a good start to the league, as we got three points in our first game.”
“The only thing [I’m not happy with] is we weren’t successful in resting some of our players, such as Masanari and Darryl Roberts,” rued Marcaida, alluding to the club’s quick turnaround. “We needed to introduce Alfred Osei and Marwin Angeles to get control of the midfield, and we weren’t able to take off those players as we had planned.”
The match was also saw Simone Rota’s first appearance for Kaya FC–Iloilo, with the defender completing his first full 90 minutes after nine months out injured.
“This was the right time for him to play. A month ago, we gave him a target to play on the 27th, and he met that goal. This is his first official match in nine months so after the first half, he really started putting in some crucial challenges. All throughout ninety minutes I think he did very well,” said Marcaida.
