PH settles for 1-1 draw vs Vietnam in ASEAN Championship

Jarvey Gayoso’s goal in the second half almost handed the victory but the Philippine men’s national football team ended up in another 1-1 draw, this time against the visiting Vietnam on Wednesday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. 

Both sides defended fairly well against each other before Gayoso found Bjorn Kristensen’s header and slotted in a left footed goal over Viet Anh Bui Hoang. This gave the Philippines a glimmer of hope at the 68th minute and put the Filipinos on the brink of ending their six-game losing skid at the hands of the Vietnamese which dates back to November 2012

With the regulation ending in the Filipinos’ side after scoring the first goal in their first three assignments, Patrick Deyto came through with back-to-back saves. 

However, with eight minutes of added time, Vietnam’s relentless attacks allowed them to convert off a set piece that slipped through Deyto’s hand mid-air which Doan took advantage of with a header to equalize. 

“First, I want to congratulate Vietnam for their qualification. I’m sad for the players because [after] the three games, we deserved more. I know how hard they train, I know how much fight they [give] for the national team. I know how much they wanted this win. it was a very poor game but we could have handled it. And  in the end we cannot close it,” PMNFT head coach Albert Capellas said after the match. 

Following similar results against Myanmar and Laos in a home and away game, respectively, the Philippines now has three points as it continues to run in fourth place behind top seed Vietnam, Indonesia, and Myanmar.

The Philippines will be heading to Indonesia in the early morning of Thursday to salvage its chances of making it back to semifinal contention carrying a 0-3-0 (win-draw-loss) record with them. The team will face Indonesia on Sunday.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News