Kaya whips Archers, nail Smart Club third place

SHOWING its readiness for the United Football League season, Kaya bagged third place with a 2-0 victory over Green Archers Globe last night in the PFF Smart Club Championship at  Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Goals by Alu Kigbu and Antonio Ugarte in the first half sent Kaya on its way against another team that  is expected to figure prominently in the title race in the UFL which opens Tuesday.

Kigbu opened the scoring with a close range strike before Ugarte doubled the advantage at halftime with a left-footed volley from just outside the box.

Though he got a hand on Ugarte’s effort, Archers goalkeeper Martin Villaflor couldn’t keep out the shot that sneaked into the bottom corner.

Unlikely finalists Ceres and Pasargad were to play for the title late last night.

Kaya missed midfielder Chris Greatwich due to suspension, but OJ Porteria continued his fine form, causing trouble to the Archers’ defense.

Porteria was supposed to leave with the national side bound for Myanmar yesterday, but the fleet-footed midfielder opted to delay his trip one more day to fuel the Kaya attack.

With key players like Anton del Rosario still recovering from injuries, Kaya needed to draw the best out of its makeshift backline. And Dario Dakic and Masa Omura proved resolute against the vaunted Archers attack led by Chieffy Caligdong.

Caligdong, who will leave for Myanmar today together with Greatwich and Porteria, struggled to combine well with highly rated attackers Tating Pasilan, Jovanie Simpron and Arnie Pasinabo.

Archers’ best chance came midway in the second half when Pasilan forced a fine save from Saba Garmaroudi.