Kaya-Iloilo coach Graham Harvey was left to rue the missed opportunity of producing the club’s first-ever point in the AFC Champions League after a late goal resulted in a 1-0 defeat to BG Pathum United.
The Philippines Football League side was moments away from holding the Thai League 1 champions to a scoreless draw when Sarach Yooyen struck the winning goal in the 83rd minute of the match held on a rainy Thursday night in Pathum Thani, Thailand.
Harvey could only look at the positives despite expressing his disappointment of failing to get a point.
“I thought our performance was excellent tonight. We worked real hard without the ball, we were disciplined and organized,” Harvey said.
“Unfortunately for us, one split second too late from a second phase corner cost us our first point in the AFC Champions League. We are bitterly disappointed,” he added.
Kaya has lost all of its five matches in Group F of Asia’s top club competition, but has shown some improvements against defending champion Ulsan Hyundai when it lost 2-1 last Monday.
The Iloilo side hopes to end its campaign on a high note Sunday, July 11 when it faces Vietnamese champion Viettel for the second time.
Viettel pummeled Kaya, 5-0, in their first meeting last June 29, but that could change with the way the Filipino club has performed of late.