MANILA – The Philippine men’s football team weathered a late run by Fiji to escape with a 3-2 victory in their international friendly match at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium here.
Phil Younghusband, Hikaru Minegishi and Kevin Ingreso scored a goal each on Thursday night.
The Azkals used the match as preparation for their final 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Tajikistan on Tuesday next week.
The Azkals were preparing hard for the AFC Asian Cup qualifier finale as a victory over the dangerous Tajikistan will send the Philippine-based squad to its first-ever AFC Asian Cup stint.
After missing their early attempts, the Azkals entered the scoring column in the 29th minute with Younghusband converting a penalty kick. It was his 49th international goal overall.
The Azkals continued to increase the advantage in the second half with Minegishi converting from outside of the box in the 51st minute.
Ingreso widened the lead further on a long range hit in the 61st minute.
However, Azkals’ defense became too lax late in the match allowing Fiji to convert back-to-back conversions from Ame Votoniu in the 74th minute and Roy Krisna in the 80th minute./PN
