Iloilo defeats Cebu in Copa

Originally published by Panay News Online

Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo handed Dynamic Herb Cebu its first loss in the 2022 Copa Paulino Alcantara with a 3-0 beating on Thursday night at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.

Daizo Horikoshi spearheaded the offense with two goals. Patrick Arthur added another one as the defending champions ended the elimination as the top-seed team with 16 points.

The Iloilo City-based football club immediately took a 1-0 lead with Arthur unleashing a fantastic free-kick past the Dynamic Herb Cebu defense at the 14th minute mark.

Kaya-Iloilo doubled the advantage just before the halftime break as Horikoshi converted spot-kick over the defense of Dynamic Herb Cebh goalkeeper Nathanael Villanueva.

The 26-year-old Japanese import wrapped up the victory for the Ilonggos at the onset of the second half as he capped off a fine sequence with a close range conversion.

As they tasted their first defeat in Copa, the Dynamic Herb Cebu dropped to solo second place in the standings heading into the semifinals with 13 points.

Stallion Laguna Football Club, meanwhile, took the last seat in the Final Four after holding one-time Copa champions United City Football Club to a scoreless draw.

Stallion Laguna was determined to score a winnas they pounded on the United City goal for the opener but goalkeeper Matt Silva and his backline held firm.

Until the final moments of the match, though, Stallion-Laguna still could not penetrate through the defense of United City with substitute goalkeeper Kenn James thwarting all the attempts.

The outcome allowed Stallion Laguna to leapfrog Maharlika Manila with a better goal difference of -3 compared to the latter’s -7 as both sides ended the elimination round with 4 points each.