HANOI (22 Nov 2014) – Philippines picked up their first full points in Group A of the AFF Suzuki Cup here at the My Dinh National Stadium when they staged a fabulous fight back to beat Laos 4-1.
But it was Laos who grabbed the lead in the first half before the Philippines scored two goals in each half for the win.
“We created a lot of chances even though we struggled in the first 25 minutes of the game,” said Philippines coach Thomas Dooley. “We made some easy mistakes at the start which allowed Laos to score.
“But we recovered to win the game in the end.”
It was the Philippines who pushed hard at the start through Martin Steuble and Mark Hartmann attacking from either flank which gave a lot of problem to the Laotian defence.
And while Jerry Lucena’s attempt was cleared on the line in the first quarter, it was Laos who went in front when Khampeng Sayavuthi fired in a free kick in the 21st minute that had ?? well beaten.
But the Philippines did not lose their focus and they maintained the rhythm to press Laos into their own half and in the 39th minute a cross from the right was headed into goal by Simone Rota.
And with just seconds left of the first half, captain Philip Younghusband slammed in the second goal for the Philippines to be 2-1 in front at the half.
With the crosses coming in hard at the start of the second half, the substitution for Patrick Reichelt would be pivotal when he snuck in the third goal of the game in the 76th minute before ensuring Philippines’ win with the fourth two minutes to the end.
“We knew that the crosses would be dangerous,” said Laos coach David Booth. “We tried to counter it but it was just too difficult against the taller Philippines players.”
