THE Philippines held South Korea scoreless in the first half but eventually absorbed a 0-3 loss to the reigning Asian Under-23 champion Monday night at the start of the Group H qualifiers of the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore.
The Filipinos put up a stout defense in the first 45 minutes until their wall was finally cracked by Lee Hyu-Kuk, who broke the ice in the 51st minute, with teammates Ko Jae-Hyon and Park Jeong-in adding a marker each in the 72nd and 88th minutes, respectively, to seal the win.
The charges of English mentor Scott Cooper had some near-chances in the second half but goalie Lee Gwang-Yeon was quick and alert to hold them at bay as the South Koreans picked up their first win in the four-nation group competition.
Host Singapore scrambled back to force a 2-all standoff with upset-conscious Timor Leste in the other game as the two teams remained in contention for a spot in the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup set on June 1 to 19, 2022 in Uzbekistan.
The Young Azkals will try to stay alive when they tackle the Singapore Young Lions tomorrow while the South Koreans gun for their second straight win against the Timorese.
The Philippine Football Federation announced yesterday that it had tapped former Australian national women’s coach Alen Stajcic to replace Marlon Maro as the mentor of the national women’s side in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to be held in India in January 2021.
During his five-year stint as head coach, Stajcic, 47, led the Aussies in qualifying for the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics where they reached the quarterfinals.
