Five talking points by Tito Jay: Kaya FC-Iloilo vs Azkals Development Review

Photo by: Philippines Football League

The 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara kicked off with some fireworks as Kaya FC-Iloilo began their quest of bringing the trophy back to their cabinet with a two-nil victory against the struggling Azkals Development Team.

Banking on the learnings they had in the 2021 AFC Champions League, Kaya-FC Iloilo seems to have found the fluidity the club has been looking for for a few years now.

Though they would experience a couple of threats from the young Azkals, the much-needed experience at the back saved their blushes the entire match. Let's now take a look at the five talking points from that match.

1) Experience over Skills

The Azkals Development Team showed their fangs in the opening salvo of the match with runs from Dennis Chung, Jarvey Gayoso, and Yrick Gallantes bringing the scare from the left side while Ivan Ouano's huge physique has been a constant threat in the middle.

However, despite those threats, the Ilonggo side managed to clear them out thanks to the experience of Carlyle Mitchell and Simone Rota at the back. And that's where the 2018 CPA winners banked on; experience.

There would be moments in the match that the ADT will increase the tempo of the match in their hopes of catching Kaya on the break only to find themselves slowing down once Kaya has the ball who looked tactically sound when they move the ball around.

Despite the skills the young Azkals mustered, they're still on the hunt for their first goal in four matches considering that this season's ADT squad was predominantly composed of those players who played in the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers in Singapore which ended in a scoreless and winless campaign.

In the end, Kaya FC-Iloilo showed they earned a lot of experience from their AFC Champions League stint as they showed class with the ball, made clinical decisions, and more importantly, scored two goals after building up the play patiently.

2) Men against boys

Photo by: PFL

Football, as they say, can be both a mental and a physical game and Kaya FC-Iloilo's win over the Azkals Development Team in the opening match of the 2021 CPA proved that point.

Apart from the experience, the Ilonggo side used brute force to dominate the young guns of the Philippines with tackles flying in from left to right preventing them from scoring any goals.

Kaya has set up a brick wall of defense with Rota, Mitchell, and Audie Menzi to stop any attempts from the young Azkals. With their physicality, they were able to put roadblocks on each and every build-up the ADT side planned to do.

Though they were strong and physical in this match, there were times that they were too physical as they garnered a total of 14 fouls versus ADT's eight. Luckily for them, they only got one yellow card through Shirmar Felongco's challenge on Oskari Kekkonen.

Virtually, the 2018 CPA winners now have a foot into the semifinals, they just need to maintain that physicality especially they are going up against Mendiola FC 1991 who are also known to be physical against their opponents, in their final group stage match in Group B.

3) Oskari Kekkonen's exploits

Photo by: PFL

Despite the defeat, one thing that the Azkals Development Team can take away from this match is how they were able to string a lot of passes and show that they can at least get clinical whenever they have the ball.

In the entire match, the viewers could fixate their eyes on one player, wearing number 22, Oskari Kekkonen. This has been a revelation match for the 22-year-old midfielder who, after playing the majority of his career in Finland which also gave him a chance to play with the Finland U-18 national team, decided to go to the Philippines and play for the ADT.

In his first game in the country's top-flight club football, Kekkonen was the pivot man for the ADT as he spread out the ball from left to right. His touch was exquisite, his vision was excellent, and more importantly, he barely lost the ball in the match.

Of all the ADT's chances, the most notable one came in the 80th minute of the match. Kekkonen took the free-kick for the young Azkals and his long lofted ball into the box found Jarvey Gayoso who tried to head the ball in but was covered by two black shirts.

Playing in a central to a holding midfield position, Kekkonen looked to be very comfortable in his position and he knew the task at hand. Sadly, his best wasn't good enough to help ADT crawl their way back into the match.

4) The Kanagawa Speedster finally opens his account

Photo by: PFL

He's been with the club since last year but Daizo Horikoshi just opened his scoring book with Kaya FC-Iloilo after he scored the opener in the 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara.

"Super super happy! Ok? Salamat!" cheerfully said Horikoshi who's brimming with happiness after the post-match interview.

It came as a surprise as well that Horikoshi found his way into the back of the net as when the match has started, he was originally listed as a right-wingback. However, known for his adventurous runs and mazy dribbles, he wouldn't be called the Kanagawa Speedster for nothing.

After defending well for his side and helping them out in terms of building up the play, Horikoshi decided to up the ante when he went up for a counter-attack and positioned himself at the right place and at the right time.

With Menzi managing to shake off Oliver Bias, he then sent the ball inside the box to which Horikoshi met with a delightful first-touch and the next picture says it all.

Photo by: PFL

"This goal is my first goal with Kaya so I'm happy to get the goal and the three points. In the first half, we couldn't play well so we have to fix the problem." With this goal, Daizo hopes to get more as they progress in the tournament and will be hoping to be pivotal in his club's Operation: Bring the Copa back to Iloilo.

5) The broadcast you've all been waiting for

The heroes behind the amazing viewing experience. Photo by: PFL

It took a year for the local club football competition to come back but all we can say is, it was worth the wait. Despite having five teams in the 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara, the Philippines Football League, thanks to the help of its sponsor Qatar Airways and the Philippine Football Federation managed to push through with at least the cup tournament for this season.

The clamour from the fans prompted Tupas and his team to do whatever it takes to bring the matches on free TV for everyone to have access to the games and to boost the interest of the general viewing public in the beautiful game that we all love.

"What is important right now is that we make the most of the opportunity to show that club football in the Philippines deserves live TV airtime."

And so they did. The 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara from day one until the final will be broadcast live on One Sports and One Sports+. This meant that the games would be available for standard definition on free TV and high definition for those with a cable subscription.

The games are also available on live stream on the Philippine Football League's Facebook and Youtube channel, Puso Pilipinas (FB & YT), and Smart Sports for those without television or who wanted to watch the game while they're on the go.

On its Facebook page alone, the PFL garnered 31,000 views for the opening match of the CoPA where they peaked with about 1,400 live viewers. They also earned 19,000 views on Smart Sports' FB page, and 7,100 views through PusoPilipinas' FB page.

Moving on to Youtube, the opening match between Kaya FC-Iloilo and Azkals Development Team garnered 3,100 views on the PFL channel. All this, thanks to the ever hard working media and broadcast team headed by Cedelf Tupas.

"Compared to last year, this year’s Copa was a bigger challenge for the PFF Broadcast and Production team because we were sending our feed to One Sports and One Sports+ and not just limited to live stream anymore," said Tupas regarding the challenge they have this season.

He also said, "We’ve taken in lessons from last season and upgraded our equipment in an effort to give the fans a better viewing experience."

Not known to many, the members of the media and broadcast team of the PFL are learning while doing the coverage. After all, they just wanted to give what the fans deserve; an amazing broadcast experience.

"The team is filled with passionate and capable people who have a genuine love for the game. We are still learning with every match that we cover," said Tupas.

The difference from last year to this year's broadcast was really noticeable as the in-house team managed to bring a live stream experience worthy of being on each and every Filipinos' television. With their continuous efforts, the fans may soon experience the same thing for the Azkals' home matches.