Kaya upsets Ceres for UFL Cup title

Kaya FC won the 2015 UFL Cup over Ceres-La Salle, 4-2, after a thrilling final which was decided by a penalty shootout on Friday at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Christian Ayew and Louis Clark helped Kaya seal the deal in the penalty shootout, breaking a 2-2 deadlock to give their squad the title.

It’s a sorry defeat for Ceres, which came back from a 0-2 deficit and stood toe-to-toe with the eventual champion up until Paul Mulders was stopped by Nick O’Donnell in its fourth try in the shootout.

Tishan Hanley broke the ice at the 46th minute, scoring off of a cross from Diego Barrera to give Kaya a 1-0 lead at halftime.

Barrera then opened the second half with a goal of his own, hitting the crossbar before the ball found the back of the net at the 56th minute to give Kaya a 2-0 lead.

Ceres refused to go down without a fight, as Lee Jeong Woo answered back 

at the 63rd minute with a curve ball.

With Ceres threatening, Kaya had to deal with more trouble after Chris Greatwich was sent out after incurring his second yellow card at the 69th minute, trimming the squad to just 10 men.

Juani Guirado leveled the match at 2-2, scoring off a header from a Martin Steuble cross at the 73rd minute.

Late substitute Marwin Angeles almost made the comeback complete for Ceres at the 87th minute, but his breakaway goal was just slightly wide to the right.

Steuble also had a golden chance at the 89th minute, but his shot went straight to the hands of goalkeeper O’Donnell as the match went to extra time.

Both teams failed to score in the added 30 minutes which set the stage for a thrilling penalty shootout.