FRISKY midfielder Javier Mariona struck with a penalty kick in the first half, sparking the Philippines to a 2-0 win over a depleted Brunei side to boost its semifinal bid in the Asean Under-23 Mandiri Cup at the Patriot Chandrabagha Stadium in Bekasi, Indonesia late Monday night.
Mariona, 20, coolly slotted in the spot kick past Indon goalie Hisyam Norihan and into the bottom left corner of the net in the 20th minute after teammate Jax Pena had been taken down from behind inside the penalty area by Wafiq Danish.
A regular on the national seniors’ squad, the Fil-Am booter scored his first marker for the country in international play.
Mariona then set up Toti Nunez, who came in the second half, for the insurance goal with five minutes to go, blasting from point-blank range, as the charges of Aussie coach Garrath McPherson booked their second win in three matches in Group A, good for six points and second place.
Host Indonesia, which beat the Philippines 1-0 last week, battled to a goalless draw against Malaysia Gelora Bun in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, securing its place in the semifinals with seven points and topping the group.
The Filipino footballers could book their ticket to the semis as the best group runners-up, assuming pacesetting defending champion Vietnam beats Cambodia in Group B and frontrunner Thailand defeats Myanmar in Group C in a pair of matches scheduled last night.
The PH squad was dominant from the start, squandering early chances in the first 10 minutes as striker Andres Aldeguer’s early volley soared over the crossbar from five yards and Jaime Rosquillo’s header from a corner kick clipped Norihan’s right leg and was cleared out of the way.
Forward Otu Bisong Banatao, who scored a brace in the 2-0 upset of Malaysia in the first match, relieved Aldeguer after the break and had a golden opportunity to raise the PH output when midfielder Azrin Danial punched out Uriel Dalapo’s booter from inside the goalbox in the 55th.
Danial remonstrated the handball violation call and subsequent penalty, which resulted in a red card, reducing Brunei to 10 men.
But Banatao’s weak shot from the center was saved by Norihan, whose timely saves kept Brunei in the thick of the match until the final whistle.
