KUALA LUMPUR—Philippine squads fell prey to lapses in defense and their opponents’ unrelenting pace to suffer lopsided setbacks in the 29th Southeast Asian Games football tournament on Thursday night.
The national under-22 team was unable to recover from two miscues in the first half and absorbed a 0-3 beating from a frisky Indonesian side that was supported by close to 5,000 roaring fans at the sprawling Shah Ahlam Stadium. It was the Filipinos’ first loss in Group B of the men’s competition.
The Malditas, too, couldn’t contain powerhouse Vietnam after a scoreless standoff as fatigue set in and took a similar 0-3 defeat at the UM Arena in Petaling Jaya for their first setback in the women’s side.
“I cannot accept those first two goals by Indonesia because we lost our focus and concentration on defense,” men’s coach Marlon Maro lamented. “Those goals were not supposed to happen.”
Maro was referring to the sixth-minute goal of midfielder Septian David Mulana, who struck from pointblank range from a right cross and the other in the 37th from skipper Pranata Hansamu Yama.
The Filipino back row was caught napping in both instances. But Maro conceded the Indonesians’ third goal—a swirling 30-yard volley from midfielder Ramdani Saddil that sailed over two defenders to the top right of the net in the 58th beyond the reach of Filipino goalie Joyel Ray Joseph.
The veteran mentor rued the potential first goal of his charges in the 56th minute that was ruled offside by the linesman, which, he said, could have changed the complexion of the game.
Inside a crowded goal area, Javier Augustine Gayoso struck a free kick that bounced off the Indon defensive wall, with team captain Julian Clarino booting it in clearly, raising the Filipino camp’s hopes.
But it was deflated just as quickly when the right linesman raised his flag, nullifying the goal.
Following their 4-1 rout of the Cambodians last Thursday, the unbeaten Vietnamese pace the group with three wins, good for nine points, while the Indons were second with four points with a win and a draw. The Filipinos had three points to stay in third place.
The top two teams after the single-round elimination series will advance to the crossover semifinals.
The Malditas will have a four-day layoff before returning to the pitch against Myanmar on August 22.
With their 2-1 win over Malaysia, the Filipinas stayed in fourth place in the five-nation, single-round tourney with three points.
Myanmar is on top with four points on a win and a draw, while Vietnam and defending champion Thailand are in second spot with a win each.