Philippine men’s national football team loses Peace Cup crown to gritty Myanmar side

Phil Younghusband goes for a goal as teammate Chris Robert Greatwich and Myanmar’s Win Min Htut look on in the final match of the Peace Cup at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila. (Inquirer)

The Philippine national men’s football team, better known as the Philippine Azkals, got stunned in their own backyard, losing the Peace Cup title to the visiting Myanmar squad via a close 2-3 decision in extra time in the finals last Saturday night at the packed Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

This is the first time that the Burmese won against the Filipinos. The Azkals triumphed in their first two meetings, including a 2-0 victory at the AFF Suzuki Cup in Bangkok two years ago.

But the Burmese side now has Serbian coach Radojko Avramovic, who is familiar with the Azkals. The Serbian led the elimination of the Azkals while handling Singapore two years ago in the Suzuki Cup semifinals.

Scoring for Myanmar in the hard-fought match were Kyaw Ko Ko, Min Min Thu and Soe Min Oo, who scored the game-winning goal.
Myanmar showed its eagerness to stage an upset against the Azkals as its offense went full blast early on.

Kyaw Ko Ko scored on a chip shot from beyond the penalty box that hit the crossbar before going straight into the net to give Myanmar a 1-0 lead early in the first half.

MOMENTUM SWING

The Philippines failed to equalize as Myanmar’s defense stood strong against the homecourt-toting squad.

But Myanmar encountered a slight glitch during the break as coach Avramovic was sent off from the field for excessive complaining.

Momentum seemed to have swung to the Philippines at the start of the final half as defender Daisuke Sato scored in the 39th minute to tie the game at 1-1. Azkals star Phil Younghusband then took advantage of a penalty to convert a goal in the 71st minute that gave the Azkals a 2-1  lead.

The Philippines looked headed for its third straight Peace Cup title until Min Min Thu scored the equalizer in injury time for Myanmar to send the match to extra time.

There, Soe Min Oo shoot the dagger that gave Myanmar the lead, 3-2, in the 100th minute, stunning the Filipino crowd.

The Azkals tried to score an equalizer that would have forced a shootout but Myanmar’s goal keeper Thiha Si Thu  stood his ground and helped his team chalk up the win.

Myanmar advanced to the finals after beating defending Challenge Cup champion Palestine, 4-1, in the semifinals. The Azkals, on the other hand, routed Chinese-Taipei, 5-1, to make the championship round.

In the battle-for-third, Palestine dominated Chinese-Taipei, 7-3. Regulation ended at 3-3 before Palestine hauled goals in extra time. /with a report from the inquirer