Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo made a threatening appearance in the 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara as they blasted Loyola Football Club, 7-0 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Ilonggo Fitch Arboleda and Justin Baas lead the squad with two goals each, while newcomers Ricardo Sendra, Abou Sy and Mark Swainston contributed one conversion each.
The Iloilo-based club showed impressive ball movements in the early going with Sendra drawing the first blood in the 11th minute.
Doubling the score, Arboleda converted at the 30th minute, giving his presence felt in the game. A close range connection at the 34th minute was converted , before Arboleda completed his first half brace with a distant strike at the 43rd minute.
In the second half, Baas found a way to squeeze in his lefty strike for his second goal of the night at the 50th minute mark and increase the defending champion’s advantage to 5-0.
Kaya-Iloilo continued its onslaught as Senegalese Sy got himself on the scoresheet with a tidy finish in front of goal at the 57th minute before Swainston made his debut for the Ilonggos with an 89th minute goal.
According to Kaya-Iloilo head coach Colum Curtis, they were very happy with the effort of the players. “Practically there are a lot of new concepts introduced to the team but the players did fantastically (in our first game) and they play with desire,” he added.
With the victory, the Ilonggos rest for a week before resuming action taking on Don Bosco Garelli United on weekend.IMT Sports
