By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Kaya FC-Iloilo clinched its best start in Philippines Football League (PFL) history after crushing the Stallion Laguna FC, 3-0, and extended its undefeated streak to five-straight wins.
Despite playing under heavy rains while navigating through the thick muddy surface of the Rizal Memorial Stadium, the Ilonggo booters still found a way to pull off the victory in a convincing fashion.
It was a highly-physical start between Kaya and Stallion as expected but the Ilonggos started to gain their rhythm at the 20th-minute mark of the match.
Kaya FC started to penetrate inside Stallion’s interior defense led by Ilonggo captain Jovin Bedic who came close to delivering the first blood but failed to cash in the goal.
It took 38 minutes for the Ilonggos to find the back of the net after former Azkals Development Team (ADT) superstar Jarvey Gayoso received a sweet pass from Mar Diano inside the penalty area.
After receiving the pass, Gayoso showcased a spin cycle move to fool Stallion’s goalkeeper and converted on a short left tap for the first goal of the match.
Three minutes after Gayoso’s goal, captain Bedic finally put his name in the scoring column after firing a powerful strike that rolled into the bottom right corner of Stallion’s goal post.
Daizo Horikoshi capped off Kaya FC’s stellar outing after tripling their lead with a flawless free-kick after getting taken down in a scramble for the ball inside Stallion’s penalty area.
With the win, Kaya FC already notched its fifth-straight win and is the no. 1 team in the league with 15 total points.
Standing next to Kaya FC is their main rival United City FC (formerly Ceres-Negros FC) with seven points off two wins.
