By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Kaya FC-Iloilo once again overcame unfamiliar pitch conditions as they managed to beat Shan United, 2-0, in their AFC Cup opening game held at Myanmar.
Unfazed with being the away team, Kaya patiently waited for an opening and had a solid attempt three minutes in for the first goal.
However, Shan United’s resiliency on the defensive end allowed them to regain some momentum and helped them control the tempo the majority of the first half.
Shan United then consistently forced the issue on offense and almost cruised through the Kaya interior for a score in the 26th minute.
In the second half, Kaya began to switch to high-octane mode and pressed the tempo faster in hopes of an opening conversion.
Another Kaya goal came in the 74th minute courtesy of Ilonggo Jovin Bedic who sank the free-kick awarded to them after Arnel Amita was taken down inside the box.
Eric Giganto then put on the finishing touches after cruising through the Shan United defense for the 2-0 lead.
“The feeling is great, especially to score here in Myanmar. They’re a good team. We saw them play before in the Philippines. Credit to my teammates, they worked so hard over the 90 minutes. Me, I was just in the right place at the right time and I scored. Actually I’m not looking for the Man of the Match. My whole team did well. I give the credit to them,” said Eric Giganto.
