Manila: Kaya FC-Iloilo of the Philippines and Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nôi FC will lock horns on Matchday Three of the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ at Rizal Memorial Stadium on Thursday.
The match pits Group B frontrunners Công An against a Kaya side that has lost two from two and will be desperate to get their first points on the board in what will be their first game in the Philippines.
Kaya began the campaign with a narrow 1-0 loss away to Kuala Lumpur City FC in August in a game that offered plenty of positives to take forward. However, what came next was nothing short of a disaster.
Away to Thai powerhouse Buriram United, Kaya were outclassed and succumbed to a 7-0 defeat as the hosts bagged five goals after the interval to complete a miserable night for Yu Hoshide’s side.
Kaya went on to begin the Philippines Football League season in fine fashion, winning five and drawing one of their first six games to head into the mid-season break in a familiar position on top of the standings. Their last competitive game, meanwhile, was a 3-1 defeat to Sydney FC in the AFC Champions League Two.
It’s been a different story for Công An, meanwhile, who began Group B with a bang by edging Buriram 2-1 thanks to goals from Phan Van Duc and Brazilian striker Grafite.
The Vietnamese side then followed that up with a whopping 5-0 victory against Singapore’s Lion City Sailors in a game that saw another Brazilian, Leo Artur, score a hat-trick. Nguyen Dinh Bac and Le Van Do were also on the scoresheet.
Công An have not had any competitive action since beating Binh Dinh 3-0 in the V.League in November, but several of the side were part of Vietnam’s recent ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ triumph, with captain Nguyen Quang Hai and Vu Vanh Thanh both playing huge roles in Sunday’s victory over Thailand in Bangkok.
They will now hope to bring that form into the Shopee Cup and make it three wins from three in Group B to take a giant step towards qualifying for the semi-finals.
Kaya FC-Iloilo vs Công An Hà Nôi FC
Venue: Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila
Kick-off: 9 January, 7:00PM (Local Time)
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