AN undermanned Global side tries to keep alive its bid for back-to-back titles in the United Football League as it collides with Kaya on Thursday at the Emperador Stadium in Taguig.
Kickoff is set at 7:30 p.m. with the defending League champions hoping to take advantage of the golden opportunity handed them after Stallion’s coronation was derailed Tuesday following a 1-1 draw with Loyola Meralco.
The Stallions could’ve won the championship outright and closed the door on Global had the reigning UFL Cup champions beat the Sparks, buts instead opened a window of opportunity for the defending champions after settling for the stalemate.
As it stands, Stallion has 46 points with no games left, leaving Global, with 40 points to show, no choice but to win its last two games for the title race to go down on goal difference.
Before it faces lowly Philippine Army in its last game, Global has to first hurdle fourth-running Kaya, last year’s runner up which came through with some disappointing performances this season but has played its best against the tournament giants.
Kaya, in fact, dealt Global its first defeat of the season, 3-2, late in the first round.
Global will also have to deal with a shorthanded backline that is without Carlos Guisso and Delon Patrick Yao, who are both out after being sent off in their last game against Loyola.
Fellow defender Val Kama is also recovering from an ankle injury he suffered in the Sparks game.
Global lost to the Sparks, 2-0, last week in a game that coach Brian Reid called as the “worst they played all season.”
However, the Scottish mentor, recently named as coach of the Philippine 23-under team, has assured that his squad will live up to its stature as the league’s best defensive team against Kaya.
“We’re certainly not going to concede anything,” said Reid, whose team has allowed the least goals in the league with nine. “Funny things happen in football. We have to take care of our own games.”
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