UFL: Kaya come from two goals down to hand Global first league loss in over a year

In what was billed as a potential banana skin for Global, Kaya came from two goals down to win 3-2 at the Emperador Stadium this Thursday. It was Global’s first loss in the league since February 1, 2012, and a victory which shows Kaya may have more to say in the title race yet. A quickfire double gave Global a commanding lead early in the game as Patrick Reichelt pounced onto a loose ball and slotted beyond the keeper in the seventh minute, before latching onto a beautifully chipped through ball in the ninth to slide in his, and Global’s, second of the game. Kaya pulled one back in the 19th minute as Masa Omura scored from a tight angle, following up Logan McDaniels’ saved free-kick. However in saving the initial shot, Global keeper Roland Sadia injured himself and had to be replaced. Substitute keeper, Ed Sacapano, who was also making his debut, was then injured later in the half himself as Alu Kigbu slid in on the on-loan goalkeeper two-footed, forcing him to get stitches on the pitch in order to continue. After halftime, Kaya equalized as Nate Burkey pounced on a lazy backpass from Val Kama, sliding in for his second goal of the season in the 54th minute. The poacher then headed in the rebound as Sacapano saved from OJ Porteria, putting Kaya ahead in the 83rd minute to complete a hard-fought comeback and end Global’s mammoth unbeaten league run. First half Both teams were without some key players as coach David Perkovic decided to leave teenager OJ Porteria on the bench while Izzo El Habbib and Carlos Guisso were unavailable for Global, their top scorer suspended while the stout defender was injured. With Misagh Bahadoran leading the line, Global broke the deadlock early as Patrick Reichelt stole in on a loose ball, burst past Chris Greatwich and slid into the bottom corner of the net in the seventh minute. Two minutes later, Carli De Murga flighted a quality ball over the top for the winger, who nodded the ball down to control it before tapping it beyond Kaya’s debuting goalkeeper Nick O’Donnell, to double Global’s tally, and his own, in the ninth minute. The two goals also doubled his season’s tally as he jumped to four for the campaign. Kaya then pulled a goal back in the 19th minute, Jeffrey Christiaens somewhat harshly adjudged to have fouled Alu Kigbu, and Logan McDaniel stepped up to take the free-kick. Curling towards the top corner, Roland Sadia pulled off a good save to keep it out, but landed awkwardly on his hand and Masa Omura swept the ball into the back of the net from a tight angle to get Kaya back into the match. The goal was only the fourth goal Roland Sadia had conceded in the UFL, with Global having the strongest defensive record in the league, but Sadia couldn’t continue and Ed Sacapano, on loan from the Army, came on to replace him for his Global debut. Misagh Bahadoran then turned his man skillfully, but dragged his shot wide before Alu Kigbu dove in on Sacapano with two feet in the 34th minute, catching the top of the Army man's head. With blood flowing from the keeper's head, Global management obviously felt some concern, given that they had already brought on their substitute goalkeeper and had no other comfortable options left. Oddly, the referee eventually gave Kigbu a yellow card, a long time after the initial free-kick was given, probably after realizing the contact was stronger than he thought because of the blood coming from Sacapano’s head. After Sacapano received some stitches to the head, and a 10-minute break for the treatment, the game restarted with those ten minutes allocated as injury time, the highest amount so far in the UFL, but the teams went into the break with Global still leading 2-1. Second half During the break, Kaya brought on OJ Porteria to bring a fresher attack to the team and the equalizer came in the 54th minute from a Global mistake, as Val Kama was caught in possession and casually tried to poke the ball back to his defense. Nate Burkey got to it first and slid in to poke home the equalizer. Kaya could have had a penalty later on as the ball bounced off Misagh Bahadoran’s knee onto his arm as he cleared a corner, but the referee didn’t spot it. Soon after, Masa Omura came off for Dario Dakic, as the game started to open up, and Global had a clear penalty shot when Fabian Lewis clattered into the back of Misagh Bahadoran just inside the area. Moments later Patrick Reichelt almost had a hat-trick when he latched onto a through ball and lobbed it over O’Donnell, but the keeper had gotten close enough to put Reichelt off and the ball went just wide. OJ Porteria went down soon after, from a foul by Val Kama, but the referee missed the call. For Kaya it didn’t make any difference though, as they went ahead in the 83rd minute when Porteria cut in from the left wing and fired at goal. Ed Sacapano got a hand to the shot but could only parry it to the lurking Nate Burkey, who grabbed his second of the game, heading in the loose ball. Global almost equalized as Reichelt missed another chance for a hat-trick, his header from six yards going over from the corner. Nate Burkey then came off for Janrick Soriano, as Kaya looked to kill the game and secure the three points, handing Global their first league loss since February 2012. What’s next for the teams With their fourth win of the league, Kaya have turned the title race on its head. Still nine points adrift of the Stallions, Kaya doubled the number of goals Global have conceded all season in this match. Much-improved under new coach David Perkovic, they will be hoping to continue their five match unbeaten streak against Pachanga on April 20. Global’s last league defeat was a controversial 4-3 loss to Loyola in February, 2012, and they will have to bounce back quickly to keep up in the title race. Now two points behind Stallions, they will have the chance to redeem themselves against PSG on April 16 as the first half of the season ends and the second begins. - AMD, GMA News