THAILAND exploited the porous Philippine defense, emerging with a 3-1 victory to bag third place in the Asean Under-23 Mandiri Cup at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia late Monday night.
Midfielder Panthamit Prapanh scored the icebreaker in the 29th minute while Siraphop Wandee and Seksan Ratree added two more markers in the 74th and 86th, respectively, as the Thais clinched the bronze medal.
Striker Otu Binatao scored the lone goal, a looping header, in the 79th minute for the Filipino footballers, who scored their best finish in the Under-23 meet since making their debut in the 2005 edition in Bangkok, Thailand.
Defending champion Vietnam and host Indonesia were to dispute the championship at the same arena last night.
Despite the setback, the gritty stand by the charges of Australian tactician Garrath McPherson was not overlooked by veteran Singaporean football writer Gabriel Tan of ESPN.
“The spirited display was to be expected from the Philippines, based on the endeavor and sense of adventure they had already shown at the tournament. Even getting this far will probably be widely viewed as a commendable achievement,” he wrote.
“From the initial high to the eventual disappointment, the Philippines will have plenty to take away from the Asean U-23 Championship,” the report said.
