Kike Linares hugs Sandro Reyes after scoring the later winner for the Philippines versus Thailand. Photo courtesy of Frenzy Claire Sadanguel
Breakthrough win for Philippines
THE Philippines secured a close advantage for the return match against Thailand by stunning they defending two-time champions, 2-1, in the first leg of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup semifinals Friday night before 7,116 fans at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
And just when things seemed to be heading for a stalemate, Kike Linares struck the late winner to give the Filipinos a slight edge going into the second leg tomorrow night in Bangkok.
From a Zico Bailey free kick, Paul Tabinas cushioned the ball to Linares for the diving header in stoppage time that sent the Philippine crowd into frenzy, a core memory that will be a part of core memory of every football fan in the country.
Aside from bagging their first-ever semifinal win in the ASEAN men’s championship since 2010, it was the Filipinos’ first victory against the War Elephants in 52 years.
Prior to Friday night, the last time the Philippines won over Thailand was on June 12, 1972, a 1-0 victory at the Jakarta Anniversary Tournament.
The Filipinos prevailed despite missing the services of suspended defender Amani Aguinaldo, as Linares atoned himself from an earlier mistake with his first international goal to remember. Then there’s Quincy Kaameraad who impressed in his first start as goalkeeper for the Philippines.
“I’m very happy for all the supporters, all the fans. I’m very happy for the players because they never give up. We played a very good 35-40 minutes against a very good team,” said coach Albert Capellas after the match.
“In the second half we suffered more, conceded attempts that we shouldn’t have. But we handled it together. We never lost the hope because this team — they’re fighters, they believe — they fight so much for this country. I’m so proud for them. In the end I think we got what we deserved. I’m very happy,” he added.
Sandro Reyes gave the Filipinos the lead after 21 minutes for his third international goal, but Suphanan Bureerat equalized for the War Elephants just before the end of the first half.
With a foot back into the match, Thailand played in the second half inspired, mounting numerous attacks that led to clear-cut opportunities.
But after enduring a difficult half of pressure, the Philippines dramatically turned the match around in the final minute setting up for the biggest win in country’s history.
“We knew how to suffer, we suffered the entire group stage,” said Reyes.
“I think the group stage was a perfect practice for today because we suffered a lot, but we found a way to go through all those hurdles. We went through hell and we came out. Today was the same. The end of the first half, until the end of the game I think Thailand had plenty of chances. They were putting pressure on us. We couldn’t keep the ball. We were very tired. But we got out of hell and scored the last minute goal. The fans were amazing. They were with us until the end.”
It was a magical moment for Reyes to be part of history of beating the War Elephants, the most successful team in the region’s biggest football showpiece with seven titles.
“Since I started playing football at age four, Thailand has always been the team to beat. They’ve always been the strongest in Southeast Asia, so to beat them shows how far we’ve come,” said Reyes.
“But the job isn’t even halfway done. We’ve got a very difficult job in the second leg coming up and we want to play a final here, so we’ll give everything to get that fina here,” he added.
Ecstatic about the historic win, Capellas believes there’s still plenty more to come from the Filipinos, who are not in the radar before the start of the competition.
The Philippines remained undefeated in this edition of the ASEAN Championship, drawing with higher-ranked Vietnam and then eliminating Indonesia to reach the semifinals for a fifth time, and the first since 2018.
“I’m very happy for everyone who’s making a lot of effort inside of the federation — Freddy [Gonzalez], Mikkel [Paris], and all of the staff.
You cannot imagine how much they work for this team. They need all the support from everybody because this is just the beginning, and we want to get better and better,” said Capellas.
The job is not done for the Filipinos, who are looking to give the country s first ever appearance in the competition, as the War Elephants historically play well at home.
