THE Philippine Under-23 squad contained defending champion Vietnam, forcing a scoreless draw last Sunday night, to boost its semifinals bid in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games football tournament at the packed Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho Province.
Tuning out the hometown crowd at the packed arena, the charges of coach Norman Fegidero gallantly held their own to stymie the attacking Vietnamese and earn a valuable point to maintain their lead in Group A on goal difference — 4-3, with the two sides having four points each.
“Vietnam is the defending gold medalist and the No. 1 contenders in this SEA Games, so drawing against them was a huge success for us,” Fegidero said in the post-match conference after the remarkable standoff.
“Our Azkals U-23 share the spoils with host Vietnam. We stay on top of the group in this initial stage. It looks like Philippine football is reaping the initial fruits of the ADT (Azkals Development Team) Program,” noted national team manager Dan Palami in his Facebook post shortly after the game.
But the Pinoy booters will have no time to relax because they play their third match in five days today against Myanmar, which will be in high spirits after beating Timor Leste 3-1 in the other group match. The match is set at 4 p.m. (5 p.m. in Manila).
The Under-23 Azkals will have a much-needed breather when they cap their Group A campaign on Friday against Indonesia, with the top two squads after the group stage advancing to the crossover semifinals.
The Nationals are aiming for a spot in the semis for the first time in 31 years since the squad led by Fegidero attained the feat at the 1991 Manila SEA Games at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
