Kaya FC coach Fabien Lewis summed up Saturday’s win against Loyola Meralco Sparks FC as the “best day for a comeback.”
Down 0-1 due to a Brad Grayson goal in the first half, Kaya equalized twice in the second half. However, a last minute goalkeeping blunder from Sparks goalkeeper Tomas Trigo gifted Kaya the 3-2 win in a pulsating match.
“We are lucky (with the win), but we worked really hard (for it),” said Lewis. “We sorted out our problems at half-time that’s why in the second half we did a very good job.”
Lewis commended his players for having the heart to win the match despite going behind twice in the match.
“It’s a grudge match, it’s a match everybody wants to play,” continued Lewis. “Kaya is a team that will never give up.”
OJ Porteria relished the win against the Sparks. The forward provided two assists in the match. The first was the pass to Chris Greatwich inside the box for the equalizer in the 58th minute. The second was Christian Ayew’s winner in the 89th minute.
“Loyola has always been a tough matchup for us,” said Porteria. “(But) tonight we were the better team.”
Porteria was injured heading into the match. But with everything on the line against the Sparks, the forward decided to play for the whole 90 minutes.
“I just have to give it all for the team,” added the forward. “We have that Kaya attitude throughout the whole game and I’m very proud of the boys.”
The forward also expressed his sympathy towards Trigo. Porteria went on to say that Ayew’s match winner “was just a fluke.”
“Nine times out of ten (Trigo) would save that,” added the forward. “That’s football, we just have to move on from here.”
Kaya’s next league match will be on July 19th against league leaders Ceres La Salle FC.