By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Two of the best and storied franchises in the history of Philippine football just clashed in an action-packed and thrilling 2022 Copa Paulino Alcantara duel which ended in a 1-1 draw.
The defending champions Kaya FC-Iloilo and the Philippines Football League (PFL) title-holders figured in one of the most explosive matches in the ongoing Copa league held at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.
United City were the first to draw first blood after the superb Manny Ott found the back of the net in the 35th minute of the match.
Simone Rota fired a perfect setup backpass which Ott caught with control that eventually allowed him to settle and get past Kaya’s goalkeeper Zach Banzon.
Kaya failed to equalize before the end of the first half but ended the last five minutes of the first phase with tighter defense and a more patient approach with the ball.
11 minutes after the second-half whistle, Kaya finally broke into the scoring column after Daizo Horikoshi flaunted his individual skills and tied the match at 1-1.
After gathering the ball on the left side of the pitch, Horikoshi began to attack the United City defense and got past their last backline defense.
Both teams failed to score another goal for the rest of the match despite several opportunities including one from Kaya and two from United City.
Kaya FC will have a week of rest before tackling Mendiola 1991 while United City will immediately return to action tomorrow against Stallion Laguna.
