MANILA – Kaya Iloilo made its final game at the University of Makati Stadium a resounding one as it hacked out a 4-1 victory over Stallion Laguna in the 2018 Philippines Football League.
Jordan Mintah fired two goals while Ilonggo Jovin Bedic and Negrense Jalsor Soriano added one each for Kaya Iloilo, which moved up to third place in the standings with 7 points on two wins, a draw and two losses.
It was Kaya Iloilo’s final game at the Makati field on Sunday after the league approved its formal transfer to Iloilo Sports Complex, where it will have its first match against Global Cebu on May 2.
“Winning our final game here University of Makati is the perfect sendoff for us to Iloilo,” said Kaya Iloilo mentor Noel Marcaida. “The players’ hard work decided the game as early as the first half.”
Kaya Iloilo was aggressive early, with Bedic surging the team ahead on an easy tap in from a Soriano pass. It was quickly doubled in the 18th minute as Mintah tapped back a missed free kick by Miguel Tanton.
Kaya Iloilo continued to widen the gap in the opening half as Soriano converted from a pass by Connor Tacagni. The lead went up to 4-0 just before the half as Mintah completed a brace.
Early in the second half, Stallion Laguna managed to pull one back – a Carlo Polli conversion. And that was the last for Laguna as Kaya Iloilo tightened its defense until the end.
“It’s teamwork. This game meant a lot [to us]. We decided to finish the game in the first half so we could relax in the second,” Mintah said. “There is a lot of pressure but we decided to go all-out.”
Stallion Laguna, which defeated Kaya Iloilo 3-1 in their first encounter last week, dropped to fifth place in the standings with 3 points./PN
