By The Philippine Men’s Under-23 National Team bowed out of title contention in the U23 ASEAN Championship Mandiri Cup after falling to defending champions Vietnam, 2-1, on Friday.
The Philippines could not complete the comeback against Vietnam in the semifinals match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Garrath McPherson-led squad managed to draw first blood with a goal by Javier Mariona struck with his left foot a header from Noah Leddel in the 35th minute.
Before that goal, Vietnam had two attempts to get on the board but both shots hit the sides of the goal posts. Vietnam’s head coach Kim Sang Sik got booked for a yellow card in the 17th minute after confronting referees from the sidelines.
