MANILA – The Philippine U-23 men’s football team suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of Malaysia in the 2020 AFC U-23 championship qualifier on Friday night at Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor, Malaysia.
Akhyar Rashid fired two goals, while Faisal Abdul Halim added another one for the Malaysians to draw first blood in the tournament that served as a qualifier for next year’s AFC U-23 competition.
The Malaysians did not waste time entering the scoring column with Rashid easily breaking the Azkals’ goal keeper’s defense for a conversion at the fourth minute.
The Azkals did not have a clear shot on the goal due to the tight defending of the Malaysians, which doubled their advantage before the break on the second hit of Rashid.
The Azkals still tried to come close in the second half but unable to penetrate through Malaysian’s defense before the home team put the match from within reach with a hit from Halim.
The Salvador Salvacion-mentored Philippine team will attempt to bounce back when it faces China this afternoon before closing its group stage match against Laos on March 26./PN
