Kaya overpowers Home as Roberts, Osei score braces

MANILA, Philippines – Kaya FC-Iloilo notched its first win of the AFC Cup 2019 as it cruised past Home United FC, 5-0, on Wednesday, March 13, at the Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City.

Central attacking midfielder Darryl Roberts and Alfred Osei each scored a brace as the shutout win propelled Kaya to 1st place in Group H. 

The Filipinos’ latest triumph will see them go unbeaten after two games as they secured their first win in the tournament for 4 points and a +5 goal difference.

 Kaya opened its campaign with a heartbreaking draw against Lao Toyota FC last February 27.

Home, the reigning ASEAN Zonal champion, plummeted to the bottom half of Group H with a single point and a disappointing -5 goal difference.

Roberts opened the scoring festivities early on as he headed in the match’s first goal at the two-minute mark. Haikal Hasnol, Home’s goalkeeper, mistimed his jump, thus allowing the Filipino to score from a corner kick.

The second goal came from Kaya’s team captain Jovin Bedic after he connected brilliantly with Jordan Mintah and Roberts at the 34th minute.

The counter-attack started with Mintah, who raced down the right flank and held the ball well away from the defenders. He then passed it to Roberts, who released a beautiful through ball to his captain down the left flank.

Lovely cross

Robert’s second goal, and Kaya’s third, came in the 38’ mark as Connor Tacagani produced a lovely cross from the right flank. Mintah was the initial target, but he unfortunately missed ball, thus allowing Robert to follow it up and smash the ball past Home’s goalkeeper.

The goals did not dry up in the second half as Osei scored his first goal at the 48th minute as he hit the ball at the top right corner following a fantastic save from Hasnol.

The goalkeeper denied Mintah from close range, but his teammates were not able to clear the ball as Osei reacted the fastest and scored the rebound.

At the 55th minute, it was Osei’s turn to get a brace in this lopsided match. Home’s defenders made a weak clearance as the ball fell to Osei outside the box. The central midfielder then launched an audacious volley from way out leaving Hasnoi helpless in his goal.

The Singapore-based squad kicked off the match, but they immediately conceded possession and allowed Kaya to score inside the first two minutes.

The Filipinos kept on testing Home’s goalkeeper even after scoring the first goal early on. Hasnoi was forced to go out of his box and clear the ball at the 11th minute, then had to time his jump carefully at the 18th minute to meet a Kaya corner kick.

Shahril Ishak was the lone bright spot of Home in the first half as he kept Louie Casas, Kaya’s goalkeeper, on his toes.

Ishak’s run at the 28’ mark forced Casas to clear the ball out of his box, and his header at the 41st minute required Casas to react quickly and save the ball.

In the second half, Roberts almost netted a hat-trick as his shot just went wide, while Bedic also missed a chance to complete a brace as his powerful shot went over the bar.

The closing stages of the match saw Kaya head coach Noel Marcaida shuffle his players as he sent in Shirmar Felongco, Yannick Tuazon, and Arnel Amita for Tyler Matas, Tacagni, and Marwin Angeles, respectively.

Tuazon, the second substitute to come in for Kaya, almost made it 6-0, but his shot was parried away by the goalkeeper at the 87th minute to keep the final score.

Kaya FC-Iloilo will play its third match versus PSM Makassar on April 2 at the Pakansari Stadium in Indonesia. – Juro Morilla/Rappler.com