Kaya Makati Gears Up for Back-to-back Ilocos United Challenge

From L-R: Noel Marcaida, Ref Cuaresma, Paolo Pavone, Ian Gillan

On the back of three straight victories in the Philippines Football League, Kaya Makati is set to face Ilocos United in two consecutive matches at the University of Makati. The first one takes place on Wednesday night, with the other taking place four days later, on Sunday evening. Both matches will kickoff at 7:00pm.
"Kaya at the moment are an in form team. They’ve won their last few games and are near the top of the table," said Ilocos head coach Ian Gillan. "They must be playing well because, they beat JPV [Marikina] last week, 2-0, and I rate JPV. I think JPV is probably one of the most structured teams in the competition. The results that Kaya have been getting of late have been impressive."

After a rough three-game spell at the end of June, Makati have picked up momentum in the PFL. And with wins over Stallion Laguna, Davao Aguilas, and JPV Marikina in quick succession, the team has been propelled to third in the standings, just three points away from league leading Meralco Manila.

"For the past weeks, the players have really been performing in training and that has shown in the games that they’re in top form," said Kaya head coach Noel Marcaida on his team's current run. "When we started this month, that game against Global [Cebu] (2-2 draw at UMak) really set the tone. But there’s still a lot of room for improvement, that’s why in training we always demand for quality and consistency."

The last time Kaya and United met was in Ilocos back in May, with Makati coming away with a 4-2 victory.

"I think on the Kaya side, no big changes. We just need to make sure we play to our strength. Like what we saw against JPV, we just need to make sure that we capitalize on all the chances we might get against Ilocos tomorrow," said Marcaida.

One aspect that has changed in the last few games for Makati, has been the presence of Ref Cuaresma. The goalkeeper has been preferred in the last five matches, in a run that has yielded three wins, one draw, and one loss.

"Now that I’m starting, I want to show that I’m in the right position, that I’m ready to play. It’s been a good run, and I want to continue with total discipline outside the pitch. And I just had my first clean sheet, so I’m going to continue building from there," he said.

Meanwhile, Ilocos United will be looking to eliminate the little mistakes that they felt led to their demise in their earlier meeting with Kaya.

"Last time we played Kaya, I thought we were performing well, but I gave away a silly penalty which changed the momentum of the game," said Ilocos player Paolo Pavone. "I think this time around, we’re more mature as a team, and we’ll be able to bounce back from a little mistake that cost us dearly last time around. If we can eliminate the little mistakes, we can get a result against Kaya, even if they’re an excellent team. I think we’re up for it."

United will also be welcoming new signing Adam Mitter to the their team, a defender who recently played for Meralco in the now defunct United Football League.

"Are we going to have a difficult game tomorrow? Yeah we are. But I tell you, my boys will be up for the fight," said Gillan.

United are currently at the bottom of the table with three points. Their last match was a 1-1 draw against Stallion Laguna.