NAYPYITAW (25 Aug 2013) – Singapore kept up the chase in Group B of the AFF AYA Bank Under-16 Championship when they sidestepped the Philippines 2-0 in the match that was played this afternoon here at the Wunna Theikdi Stadium.
The win was Singapore’s first following their 1-1 draw against Malaysia two days earlier while the Philippines are facing the exit after conceding their third defeat in a row.
Singapore was all eager at the start of the tie today as they pressed the Philippines hard in search of the early goal. After some sustained pressure, Singapore finally got their first real chance of the game in the 26th minute but Muhammad Hami Syahin Said totally blasted the ball over even though the Philippines defence was off their line.
Two minutes later, Muhammad Amirul Hakim Onn rocked the crossbar with a thunderous effort before Singapore finally broke the deadlock in the 45th minute when Muhammad Zulqarnaen Suzliman broke through for a shot which even though Philippines keeper Michael Asong had a hand, still managed to trickle into goal.
With just one goal to their name, Singapore pushed hard into the second half and after crashing the crossbar two more times, they got the second goal that they were looking for, when Muhammad Syukri Mohd Bashir headed home a failed clearance from Asong.
The Philippines gained a real chance to score their first goal of the competition when they were awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute but unfortunately, Jeremiah Borlongan’s meek attempt failed to beat Singapore custodian Kenji Syed Ali.
“I was expecting a better performance from this team considering that they played in the FAM-Frenz tournament,” said Philippines coach Andres Gonzales. “But with the limited time that we had and also the level of competition, it was just not to be even though we played better against Indonesia than we did against Singapore.”
Group B Current Standings
