UFL: Kaya FC and Global FC pick up impressive wins

Kaya FC and Global FC exhibited strong showings on Thursday, with the former picking up a 3-1 win over Pasargad, while the latter trounced Pachanga PLDT Home Fibr 4-1, in Separate UFL games.

All four teams were coming from very different games prior to their Thursday matches. Pasargad FC lost their last match to Team Socceroo FC, conceding one goal late in the game. Kaya FC had ended their last game in a scoreless draw with Green Archers United. Global FC was coming off a one-sided 9-1 drubbing of Army-GTI FC, while Pachanga, slipping of late, had lost to the same Army team 0-2.

Pasargad bows to Kaya

Pasargad looked like the more aggressive team in the very early goings of the game, with their first attempt coming from Zabihi Taher right at the first minute. Kaya’s came a few minutes later as OJ Porteria tried his luck, but Pasargad goal keeper Russel Pierson was able to kick it out. However, that seemed to awaken Kaya, and they followed it up with attempt after attempt.

Pasargad had to make an early substitution, sending in Hamed Fateh, as just fifteen minutes into the game, Aboubacar Diabyra went down in front of the Kaya goal.

At the 24’ mark came another good save by Pierson on an attempt by Joven Bedic, followed by one on a Porteria try. The young keeper, even though he has played for a team that has not won in this season, has actually had several good games, usually keeping Pasargad from losing by bigger margins.

Again proving that football is not just a possession game, it was Pasargad's Hamed Fateh who scored first at the 39’ mark, slamming the ball from the inside corner of the box, with Kaya keeper Nick O'Donnell's dive ineffective in stopping the ball. That put them up 1-0 at the half.

Despite the lead, it was Pasargad that lingered at the halftime huddle, coming out to see Kaya already in their positions and looking determined to come back from their deficit.

And come back they did. At the 51’, Richard Greer — his real name — took a free kick that found Kenshiro Daniels inside the box. Daniels then headed the ball into the goal for the equalizer.

A barrage of attempts from Pasargad about 10 minutes later were ably stopped by Kaya, highlighted by O’Donnell getting a mitt on a goal-bound ball after a bit of a scramble in front of his goal.

On the other side of the pitch, Kaya skied several of their next attempts. At the 74’ mark, however, the ball landed at the feet of OJ Porteria inside the box, right in front of Pierson. Porteria acted quicker than Taher, who could have cleared it, and Pierson, volleying the ball into the goal emphatically.

Minutes later, it was all Porteria again, as he charged down the field, beating everyone. His first attempt was cleared right at the line by a Pasargad defender, but the clearance had too little behind it and the ball went back to Porteria who slotted it in.

That seemed to take the fight out of Pasargad, but definitely not their tempers, as in a particularly heated moment on the pitch, Taher and Kaya substitute Eddie Mallari had a short exchange and had to be pulled apart by the linesman. The head referee then just called both players to the side after conferring with the linesman, making them shake hands, with no cards shown.

As the whistle was blown to signal the end of the game, it was 3-1 to Kaya FC. This loss probably stung Pasargad, as it was reminiscent of their loss to Global FC earlier in the League. Just like in that game, they had gone ahead before conceding three goals and losing the match.
 

 Global comes up with a dominant showing against Pachanga:
 

 
 

Global trips unlucky Pachanga

Things have definitely been looking up for Global FC. They had dropped their first game in the League to the Loyola Meralco Sparks, but have won all their games since then. Last night, Carlie de Murga was in uniform for Global for the first time this season. The Azkal had injured his knee during one of his team's preseason games.

Pachanga, on the other hand, look like they have been suffering a reversal of fortune lately. The team had finished second in the UFL Cup, bowing to the Sparks in the final, but they have struggled early in League competition. Before the game versus Global, they had dropped below mid-table in the standings.

That streak of bad luck seemed to continue, as Pachanga was forced to make a substitution just six minutes into the match. Rarely-used Joachim Amani went out with an injury and was replaced by Jay Eusebio.

Compared to their game versus Army, Global’s offense seemed a little less smooth and fluid, with some tentative moments on the pitch. But that seemed to matter little as at the 24th minute, Mark Hartmann made the opening goal. Hartmann had been left mostly alone up front with just the keeper to contend with.

Then, Pachanga’s goal keeper Steve Yambou went down on the pitch after colliding with Mojtaba Mirmohammadi. It was unlucky again for Pachanga, as they had to use their second substitution due to an injury, with Kim Versales coming on for the injured Yambou.

Ten minutes after his first goal, Hartmann got a second, with a Marvin Angeles ball finding him inside the box. Oddly enough, after his expected celebration dance, Hartmann, perhaps in a fit of glee, celebrated further by taking the cap off photographer Mark Cristino at the sidelines and throwing it over the fence. Cristino later retrieved his cap.

Minutes later, it was Misagh Bahadoran’s turn at a goal. Bahadoran beat Pachanga's Deo Segunial and Jason Cutamora on the left side, striking the ball from that side of the pitch.

Right before the end of the first half, a yellow card was shown to Pachanga’s Anto Gonzales for a professional foul. Gonzales had felled a Global player when he saw that one of his teammates was down on the pitch.

Then things got confusing. In a weird sequence in additional time, Global’s Patrick Delon Yao was shown a yellow for a foul on Reza Amirkhizan. However, Reza, who had fallen to the pitch, stood up and took on a fighting stance, butting heads with Yao and then falling to the pitch again, clutching his head. Referee Jimmy Liman showed Reza a straight red.

So in the fourth minute of added time Nate Burkey was able to pull one back for Pachanga on the free kick due to Yao's foul. But they were down to 10 men coming into the second half and Global was already leading 3-1.

Global seemed to slow down at the start of the second half, however, and failed to capitalize on Pachanga being a man down. To their credit, Pachanga played better football in the early part of the second half. But at the 71’ mark, Charlie Cusi Pettys, who had gone down all the way from his right back position, headed in a Hartmann cross. That was the Fil-Am defender’s second goal of the season.

Two minutes of added time were tacked on to regulation, but the string of bad luck had cost Pachanga the game.

"Konti yung sa bench namin, and maaga yung substitutions,” said Coach Noel Marcaida. Asked about the straight red assessed to Reza, who is one of their top goal-scorers, Marcaida said he was not expecting a straight red, adding that perhaps both players involved in the fracas should have been given just yellow cards or both been sent to the showers.

There was more bad news for Pachanga, as Steve Yambou and Joaquin Amani were both brought to the hospital. Yambou suffered an ear injury, including what looks like a busted ear drum and even broken bones in that area. On the other hand, Amani will undergo tests to check his ACL and the rest of his knee, which looked like it had been left behind when he went down on the pitch without any contact.

For his side, Global’s Coach Leigh Manson said: "I think we did what we needed to do to get the three points.” The Scot also mentioned that de Murga was responding well to treatment but that it was too early to tell when exactly he would be back.

Global’s list of injured players, seems to be getting shorter, as even Amani Aguinaldo saw some action in the game. This was Aguinaldo’s first game back, after he had contracted measles in early January. Manson said that Jason de Jong should also be back shortly and that Izo Elhabbib and Jerry Barbaso are also on the mend. - AMD, GMA News