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UFL: Kaya repeat comeback win over Global, hand Stallions the crown


With the title hanging in the balance for Global, they once more gave away a 2-0 lead over Kaya, to lose the game 3-2, and their UFL title to Stallions, at the Emperador Stadium, Thursday night.

Izzo El-Habib opened the scoring in the ninth minute, pushing Fabian Lewis to force an error from Saba Sadeghi, who spilled the ball, so he could work himself the space to slot into the empty net. Global then doubled their lead in the 36th minute when El-Habib beat Lewis in the air fairly this time, to nod in his fourteenth of the season.

But just as things looked like they were going Global’s way Kaya got a lucky penalty. From the referee’s angle, Carli De Murga’s motion looked like it was the reason Eric Dagroh stumbled while shooting, and Chris Greatwich stepped up to strike the penalty against the post. But the ball then rebounded off Roland Sadia on the floor and back to Greatwich, who tapped it in to halve Global’s advantage at the break.

Early in the second half, Global’s advantage ended as Junior Munoz dove in at the back post to head in Logan McDaniel’s cross. Kaya then scored again in the 81st minute to complete their second comeback against Global from 2-0 down, as the ball struck a recovering Carli De Murga and bounced into the back of the net, to end Global’s league challenge.

And so with Kaya holding onto the win, it wasn’t Global Above All or even Una Kaya for the season, as the Stallions were the ultimate winners from the game, claiming their first league title.

First half

The deadlock was broken early and controversially as a ninth minute long ball seemed innocuous with Fabian Lewis guarding Izzo El-Habib from Saba Sadeghi, until El-Habib pushed the defender into his goalkeeper who spilled the ball. The Sudanese striker turned twice to find space and slotted the ball into the net with Sadeghi trying to recover, as El-Habib’s 13th goal for Global this season proved to be a lucky one.

Kaya tried to get back into the game with Daniel Zeleny first glancing his header into Roland Sadia’s gloves from a long free-kick, before Nate Burkey fired a shot over in the 18th minute.

In the 33rd minute Daniel Zeleny gave the ball away to Patrick Reichelt, who dribbled towards goal and laid the ball off for El-Habib, but under pressure, he couldn’t connect from inside the area. Then in the 36th minute, after Zeleny had given away a free-kick on the right wing, Jeffrey Christiaens crossed in and El-Habib beat Fabian Lewis in the air to redirect the ball into the net, as the 2010 and 2011 UFL golden boot winner doubled Global’s lead.

Two minutes and Kaya were back in the game,though, as Patrick Reichelt missed his man and Eric Dagroh stole in to aim a shot at goal. He lost his balance, kicking the floor, but the referee saw Carli De Murga’s challenge from behind as a foul, missing the fact that Dagroh had lost his balance by himself, and awarded Kaya a penalty.

Stepping up to take the kick, Chris Greatwich struck the ball firmly, but the ball rebounded off the post. Yet there was more bad luck involved as the ball hit Sadia, still on the floor from diving, and bounced into the path of the grateful Greatwich, who put the ball away the second time around.

Arguing at the side of the pitch and shouting at the Kaya goalscorer, Global coach Brian Reid was sent to the stands for the rest of the game. Marwin Angeles, who was injured earlier, got replaced by Jason De Jong, who almost made an immediate impact as he blasted at goal from distance, missing only by inches as the teams went into the break with Global up 2-1.

Second half

The rain began picking up in the second half, which foreshadowed more bad luck for Global with Kaya pressing forward and bringing on teenager OJ Porteria for Eric Dagroh early. Logan McDaniel’s cross towards the back post hung in the air and allowed Anton Del Rosario the time to make up the ground and climb above Christiaens, but he headed wide.

At the other end McDaniel then did well to nudge El-Habib off the ball in a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge when a nice through ball sent him beyond the center backs. And as the rain continued to pour, Logan McDaniel turned his man and crossed with his right foot to the backpost to find Junior Munoz’s diving header for the equalizer in the 57th minute.

Jason De Jong then gave up a yellow card for bringing down his man, before Toshiya Hosoe came on for Jonah Romeo. Then the referee missed a foul by Carli De Murga on Anton Del Rosario, who was stretchered off before hobbling back onto the pitch.

But the momentum had shifted to Kaya and frustration boiled over as De Jong received his marching orders for apparently saying something to the referee, though nothing was clear initially. Del Rosario’s injury also proved too much as Alu Kigbu replaced him for Kaya, while Nino Ochoterena came on for Marvin Angeles for Global before Koray Gunduzoglu was subbed in for Misagh Bahadoran in the 77th minute.  

In injury time Porteria almost wrapped up the win as he nutmegged Val Kama to find space in the box, but his powerful effort went over before Gunduzoglu and then Kama made last-ditch challenges to stop clear-cut chances.

That’s where Global’s title challenge ended though as they lost for the second time in a row against Kaya while holding a 2-0 lead. This time around, despite a sparkling season at times, the inability to see out the game cost them the league, as Kaya got revenge on Global for edging them to the 2012 league on goal difference, by costing them the 2013 UFL title, after what was ruled an own goal on Carli De Murga.

What’s next for the teams

With the draw here, Global’s title ambitions are over. Stallions become the champions after a very impressive season of fifteen wins and a draw in their eighteen matches. The Stallions win the league with the most number of points and most goals of a champion in the UFL ever, while Global look to rebuild ahead of the Super Cup and UFL Cup.

For Kaya, this game had no bearing on their season as they would finish in fourth either way. It’s been a rollercoaster campaign for Kaya who have at times looked like the best team in the league, but at times one of the worst.

These Jekyll and Hyde performances have led to sixteen dropped points from eight draws, the most in the league, and often against much lower opposition. They will now look to the transfer window to bolster their squad and add quality depth as some key signings could once again see them contenders, with rumors abounding of some imminent big signings. - AMD, GMA News

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