The final of the inaugural season of the Copa Paulino Alcantara was contested by Davao Aguilas F.C. and Kaya F.C.–Iloilo on 27 October 2018 on a neutral ground at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The match also determined the second qualifying team which would represent the Philippines at the 2019 AFC Cup with Ceres-Negros F.C. earlier qualified through winning the 2018 Philippines Football League.
Kaya–Iloilo won in extra time through a solitary goal and qualifies for the 2019 AFC Cup.
Background Both Davao Aguilas F.C. and Kaya F.C.–Iloilo topped their group in the group stage and advanced to the semi-final. In the knock-out stage, the Aguilas won 6-1 over JPV Marikina on 27 October at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, the same venue of the final, while Kaya overcame Stallion Laguna by winning 3-2 in their semifinal tie at home at the Iloilo Sports Complex. In the 2018 Philippines Football League, Kaya has won over the Aguilas while the Aguilas is coming from an undefeated streak of at least eleven matches heading into the final.
Kaya were also aiming for the title to honor the namesake of the club, Paulino Alcántara who is a native of their home locality, Iloilo.
Ceres–Negros F.C. the winners of the 2018 Philippines Football League fail to advance from the group stage.
Route to the final
Davao AguilasRoundKaya-IloiloOpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResultCeres–Negros3–1Matchday 1Global Cebu4–0Ceres–Negros2–1Matchday 2JPV Marikina1–0Stallion Laguna0–0Matchday 3Global Cebu3–3Stallion Laguna4–0Matchday 4JPV Marikina1–0Group A winnersFinal standingsGroup B winnersOpponentResultKnockout phaseOpponentResultJPV Marikina6–1Semi-finalsStallion Laguna3–2
Match summary The final was contested in a neutral venue at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila. The match held on 27 October 2018 was attended by 1,230 people. Thai referee, Mongkolchai Pechsri officiated the final.
Kaya–Iloilo and the Davao Aguilas was unable to score a goal against each other in regular time of the final. Both teams had at least two goal scoring attempts that was denied by the crossbar. Wesley Dos Santos, a center back of the Davao Aguilas was sent off in added time in the 98th minute after he incurred a second yellow card by fouling Connor Tacagni of the opposing team. The first yellow card was given to Dos Santos in the first half of the final. The draw in regular time meant that the match had to go extra time. Iloilo-native Jovin Bedic scored the winning goal for Kaya near the end of the second half of extra time benefiting from an assist made by Robert Lopez Mendy.
The match ended with a scoreline of 1–0 in favor of Kaya–Iloilo which earned a slot in the 2019 AFC Cup. The Iloilo-based club previously qualified for the 2016 AFC Cup play-offs by winning the 2015 UFL Cup. Davao Aguilas meanwhile earned standby team designation for the same tournament meaning that they will be able to participate in the Asian club competition if Ceres-Negros advance to the 2019 AFC Champions League group stage.
GK 1 Patrick Deyto 15 Walter Hall 30 Wesley Dos Santos 28 Marco Casambre 5 Brad McDonald 23 Adam Reed 10 Phil Younghusband (c) 6 Jason de Jong 7 James Younghusband 24 Kim Sungmin 3 Matthew HartmannSubstitutes:GK2 Ronilo Bayan Jr. 22 Dennis Villanueva 13 Joshua Grommen 20 Dylan de Bruycker 18 Julian Clariño 11 Tahj Minniecon 26 Daniel GadiaHead Coach: Melchor Anzures GK 25 Nathanael Villanueva 6 Jalsor Soriano 4 Masanari Omura 5 Camelo Tacusalme 27 Shirmar Felongco 24 Marwin Angeles 10 Miguel Tanton 16 Alfred Osei 7 Jovin Bedic (c) 29 Connor Tacagni 17 Robert Lopez MendySubstitutes:GK1 Ref Cuaresma 23 Audie Menzi 13 Janrick Soriano 3 Chy Villaseñor 21 Arnel Amita 8 Anton Ugarte 18 Serge KaoleHead Coach: Noel Marcaida
References