10-man Kaya Iloilo escapes Stallion Laguna to stretch lead in PFL table

By Ivan Saldajeno

CARMONA--Kaya Iloilo prevailed despite going down to 10 men after deposing Stallion Laguna, 2-1, in the lone PFL match for the weekend on Sunday at the PFF National Training Center here.

Kaya Iloilo lost Simone Rota after incurring a direct red card for a rough challenge. Still, the club's early barrage turned out to be enough as Stallion Laguna could not capitalize on the power play in the end.

Kaya Iloilo again banked on its brilliance off wing actions as both of their goals, one from Daizo Horikoshi in the eighth minute and the other from Jhan-Jhan Melliza in the 21st minute, were off conversions from crosses.

Koichi Belgira kept Stallion Laguna, the designated host but had to move the match to the other side of Governors' Drive and the kick-off time 30 minutes earlier due to the aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, in the game with a 41st-minute strike from the left elbow to the surprise of Kenry Balobo, who is making his first start as Kaya Iloilo's goalkeeper.

Rota was sent off in the 77th minute and Kaya Iloilo was one man down the rest of the way, but Stallion Laguna sailed their late attempts over the crossbar, and the former escaped.

With the win, Kaya Iloilo moved up to 27 points after 11 matches, six points ahead of idle United Clark and Cebu, who both have matches at hand, at the top of the league table.

Stallion Laguna, on the other hand, remained in fourth place with 15 points.

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