The Philippine Men’s National Football Team qualify to the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup with huge away win in Indonesia.
It’s a miracle in Surakarta.
The Philippine Men’s National Football Team are through to the semifinals of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Cup for the first time in six years after beating Indonesia on their home turf, 1-0, in a do-or-die Group B game Saturday night.
Bjorn Kristensen slotted in the semis-clinching goal at the 63rd minute with a spot kick after an Indonesian hand ball to propel the team to their first win in the tournament. The Philippines previously had three straight draws, including a late heartbreaker against Vietnam the last time out.
With six points after the group stage, the Philippines joined Vietnam to the knockout stage as the 2-seed with one win and three draws.
The visitors pounced on a 10-man Indonesia squad that saw captain Muhammad Ferarri sent off with a red card near the halftime mark, due to an elbow thrown at Amani Aguinaldo.
Despite the Indonesians being the busier team with 19 shots against the Philippines' nine, they were level on those that were on target with six.
It was an eventful match that saw a total of eight yellow cards and Ferarri’s red between the two teams. There were also 30 fouls called in the game.
Quincy Kammeraad provided the semis-sealing save in added time as he denied Ronaldo Kwateh’s strike from outside the box. It was a welcome development after their late-game heartbreaker against Vietnam earlier this week.
The Philippines thus play the first leg of the semifinals against Thailand on home soil on December 27, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Leg 2 happens on December 30 in Bangkok.