MANILA – The Philippine men’s under-22 football team suffered a heartbreaking 1-2 defeat at the hands of Vietnam in the 2019 AFF U-22 Championship on Sunday at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The defeat proved to be a heartbreaker for the Anto Gonzales-mentored Junior Azkals after surging to an early advantage in the game against the heavily-favored Vietnamese team.
Both teams showed the defensive side in the opening half for a 0-0 halftime score before the Junior Azkals took the advantage at the 50th minute on a freekick by JB Borlongan.
However, the Junior Azkals was not able to hang on to the advantage as Vietnamese striker Tran Danh Trung converted Le Xuan Tu’s cross from close range at the 74th minute.
The Vietnamese then dealt the Junior Azkals the heartbreaker with substitute Le Minh Binh taking advantage of Philippine’s poor defense to score the winning goal at the 78th minute.
The Junior Azkals made its last push to score the equalizer but the Vietnamese pressed on their defense until the final buzzer as the latter escaped with the win.
The Junior Azkals hope to recover the loss when it faces another powerhouse team in Thailand on Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium./PN
