By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
“Basta Kaya, tanda!”
Every time a Kaya player attempts a shot towards the opposing goal fans never miss the chance to point that fact out.
The 350-strong Ilonggo crowd’s cheers and support paid off big-time as Kaya successfully defended their home pitch, sweeping their two games against Philippine Air Force.
Kaya FC-Iloilo dismantled Air Force FC in dominating fashion in their second home game, 5-0, behind star striker Jordan Mintah’s return.
As soon as the referee blew his whistle, Kaya FC was off to the races, relentlessly attacking the tough defense of Air Force fishing for opportunities at a goal.
With Mintah’s return, Kaya showed why they are one of the best teams in the league, with their high-octane brand of offense evident in their home pitch defense as they just ran Air Force off the field.
Mintah’s start was a bit shaky as he was bothered by Air Force’s physical defense, taking him down twice in the opening 10 minutes of the game.
Air Force on the other hand, continued their encouraging play from game 1 and even had three solid attempts to score but they were either deflected by Kaya’s goalkeeper or hit the goal post.
Sensing urgency, Mintah took matters into his own hands (or feet), delivering first blood for Iloilo with a beautiful goal off a cross, 14 minutes into the match.
Air Force FC continued to play their brand of game, applying heavy defensive schemes. Unfortunately, Kaya played too good a game evident by their high-scoring output.
Slowly easing into the game, Mintah then followed his first goal with three more, leaving the Iloilo Sports Complex in awe with his masterful performance.
Mintah returned from an injury he suffered in an aerial collision with a Ceres-Negros player last September 18, 2019.
“Honestly, I am not feeling 100 percent. If I told you I am in shape I would be lying. I showed all what I can give to help the team bounce back from what we showed in the first game which the coaches didn’t like, and I’m happy with the result.”Mintah told Daily Guardian in an interview.
To cap off their amazing performance in their home turf, Jovin Bedic put the icing on the cake, scoring a goal in the 86th-minute mark.
Kaya FC head coach, Noel Marcaida, applauded the team’s effort to put on a convincing victory in their second home game.
“We made adjustments, we were happy with the result, and we capitalized every chance we had in the offensive end of the pitch,” Coach Marcaida added.
