Tough opening match for Kaya FC-Iloilo

MANILA, Philippines — Kaya FC-Iloilo faces a tough opening assignment in the AFC Cup as the revamped squad shoots for a road victory against Myanmar champ Shan United today at Thuwanna Stadium in Yangon.

The Iloilo-based club enters the competition with a new head coach in Oliver Colina, new goalkeeping mentor Rolando Cabañero, and five new players in Japanese Daizo Horikoshi and Takumi Uesato, Trinidad and Tobago national Carlyle Mitchell and Filipinos Roberto Corsame and Marco Casambre.

They seek to pass this acid test against Shan, the Burmese titlist which went unbeaten in 22 games in the domestic league last season.

“Shan United is a tough team here, with a lot of good players. I believe last year they didn’t lose a match. For us, this is our first game. Shan United will likely have the edge, but we’ll do our best to fight, challenge for everything, and hopefully get an away win,” said Colina.

Captain Jovin Bedic expressed confidence new-look Iloilo will be up to the task in the 3:30 p.m. encounter (5 p.m. Manila time).