PFF Club Championship: Kaya shoot down the Archers for third place

 

Dominating the second half too, OJ Porteria looked bright on the right wing but Kaya couldn’t find a third goal to kill off the game. The Archers, meanwhile, will be ruing their long ball style of play given the lack of height in their attack. 

 

Kaya in control

 

With Alu Kigbu opening the game with a goal, Kaya continued to dominate the first half and never looked like letting up against a sub-par Green Archers side. 

 

Towards the end of the first half Ayi Nii Aryee came on for the Green Archers, a key player for them in the center of midfield leaving questions of why he didn’t start the game, given that first half substitutions are rare aside from injuries.

 

The Green Archers continued to hit long balls against a taller Kaya defense, while Kaya looked bright, passing the ball on the floor and breaking down the Archers’ defense. 

 

Just before the end of the half Kaya were on the attack, but the play looked innocuous until it fell to Antonio Ugarte who struck the ball hard past Martin Villaflor in goal. Villaflor got a hand to the ball but it wasn’t enough as the Archers went into the break two goals behind.

 

Kaya see out the game

 

After the restart Kaya almost scored a third goal as Enzo Pinga picked up the ball in the Archers’ box while on the counter-attack and making himself half a yard, he unselfishly laid the ball off for Alu Kigbu whose shot was fired wide. Both forwards were replaced shortly after as Kaya opted for a more defensive lineup to see out the win.

 

The second half in many ways belonged to OJ Porteria as the promising youngster performed a rollover on the ball before dashing between his two men, but his cross was just behind the man running onto the ball and he scooped his shot over. 

 

Porteria continued to look dangerous on the right as he beat his man again before Obinna came in with a last-ditch challenge to prevent a clear cut chance.

 

The Green Archers needing some physical presence and to get back into the game, made two substitutions, but ultimately the fresh legs couldn’t provide much impetus as the Archers faded. 

 

UFL starting February 5

 

Ahead of the UFL League Competition starting February 5, Kaya can be pleased with their performance as a victory over Loyola Meralco Sparks and only losing to eventual winners Ceres FC, who won’t be in the UFL this season, being a Bacolod-based club. 

 

With eleven goals scored and four conceded, they have also avoided their traditional problem of not scoring enough goals and that could be important during the season. 

 

They have lost a lot of players though, and whether the team can cope without Aly Borromeo, still injured, Armand Del Rosario, who transferred, and several other key players, will remain to be seen throughout the course of the league.

 

The Archers, meanwhile, looked to Chieffy Caligdong for their goals. 

 

With four scored, he ended the tournament as the top scorer although given his small stature he isn’t built for the long ball style the Archers adopted in this game. His speed and trickery can certainly cause defenses problems still, and the Archers will be looking to build on their two semifinal appearances with Chieffy, Tommy Escoltero, and Jake Hugo added to the team.  — ELR/AMD, GMA News