UFL: Kaya slips past Global

MANILA, Philippines –Proving its worth as a title contender, an inspired Kaya side stunned Global, 1-0, Wednesday night in the United Football League at Emperador Stadium in Taguig.

Eddie Mallari scored the only goal in the first half before Kaya defended valiantly in the face of constant bombardment from Global side, which dealt David Perkovic’s charges a 1-2 defeat in the first round.

“I believe heart in the mouth is the term,” said Perkovic, the Australian coach who is on his second season with the LBC-backed club. “The boys showed a lot of character to grind it out. To keep a clean sheet against Global says something about our defense because they score goals for fun.”

Kaya improved to 19 points after nine matches, while Global remained with 22 after 10 games, four points behind the Loyola Meralco Sparks. The loss also ended Global’s unbeaten streak at eight matches.

Global strikers Mark Hartmann, Milad Behgandom and Misagh Bahadoran blew clear-cut chances in the second half, where Kaya goalkeeper Nick O’Donnell sparkled.

The former Ateneo goalkeeper earned his first call-up with the national team for the friendly against Malaysia on Saturday.