By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After 95 grueling minutes of physical football, Kaya FC-Iloilo and Mendiola FC 1991 ended their match in a draw with both teams failing to score a goal.
Kaya had many chances, but failed to capitalize.
Mendiola FC was prepared for Kaya’s offense, clogging the sweet spots of Kaya’s star striker Jordan Mintah, bothering his gather and preventing him from moving forward with the ball.
Mendiola’s physical play was highlighted in the 12th minute when one of their players pulled down Mintah while attempting a goal. The play resulted in a red card, demoting Mendiola to just 10 players on the pitch.
After the call, Iloilo was rewarded with a free kick but Darryl Roberts failed to convert after hitting the crossbar.
Kaya stepped on the gas in the second half and had numerous clear attempts but was still unsuccessful at scoring a goal.
The succeeding minutes would prove tough for Kaya as Mendiola turned up their aggression on the defensive end, going smart with their tackles to intercept Kaya’s dribblers.
With almost 56 seconds left in the match, Kaya FC had hopes of scoring a big-time goal when Bedic threw a beautiful through ball for Mintah, setting up a one on one encounter with Mendiola’s goalkeeper as Mintah was able to outrun his last defender, firing a powerful shot only to be saved.
With the draw, Kaya FC maintains its’ second place but still trails by 7 points to rivals Ceres-Negros.
