Kaya pips
Diliman 1-0
October 9, 2012
Rizal Memorial Football Stadium
“Tinelevise pa yung massacre, no?”
quipped Diliman’s Paolo Misa before kickoff.
After full time and the score only
1-nil, in favor of Kaya, the result definitely flattered Diliman that has had
only one full practice or game when they made their debut just last week in the
ongoing UFL Cup.
There was concern that stacked and
loaded Kaya would pulverize Diliman that had lost much of their firepower to
Pachanga. But Kaya although thoroughly dominating possession and attempts
managed only one goal and it was off a broken play.
In the 42nd minute, Yannick
Tuason spun and found himself with space deep in the left flank. He launched a
perfect cross that was met in the air by Nate Burkey who headed the ball
towards the goal. However, Diliman keeper Kim Versales, only returning to
competitive play after a long lay off (he was the goal keeper coach of Pachanga
for the entire last season), blocked the shot. A Diliman defender was unable to
latch on the rebound and Kaya midfielder Jonah Romero came crashing in for a
close range shot that this time was straight and true.
Kaya had would have numerous chances
more but their inability to once more score proved to be of great concern. “The
quality of the finishing or even the final pass needs a lot of polishing,”
lamented head coach Kale Alvarez. “We are wasting too many chances.”
“If we cannot score then we will be in
trouble against teams like Global or Loyola,” added midfielder Armand del
Rosario.
How dominant was Kaya? Diliman’s first
completed pass into their attacking half occurred in only the 31st
minute. They would have one other four minutes later but for the most part,
they launched forward passes or long balls that they couldn’t track down or
even control.
They did threaten once on a counter
where they managed to loft a cross inside the Kaya box that didn’t find anyone
although it did prompt team management to howl their displeasure at the team’s
inability to score more goals.
Not even the entry of Eric Dagroh
whose speed upfront was welcome although he too was lacking in finishing
quality.
“It’s a win,” sighed Alvarez. “We got
the three points. But we still have a long way to go.”
And those three points saw Kaya take
the leader position of Group B with seven points from three matches although
Green Archers is at second with four points and a game at hand.
Kaya will return to action on October
21 when they play Dolphins United that took a 7-2 shellacking at the hands of
Green Archers United in the second game. The 11-day layoff allows plays like Jason
Sabio, Sean Illif, Eddie Mallari, and Kurt Alvarez to recuperate from injuries.
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