The Philippines’ Jefferson Tabinas tries to keep ball possession against Malaysia during their 43rd Merdeka Cup match. PFF photo
Pinoy booters fall short
THE Philippines fell agonizingly short, 1-2, against hosts Malaysia in the 43rd Merdeka Cup at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday night.
Despite only one training session together before the match, the No. 147 Filipinos pushed the 135th-ranked Malaysians to the limit.
“I’m very happy with my players that we fought a very good fight until the final whistle. I’m very proud of them. We had a very good chance in the first minute of the game. And then of course, as you could see, we had another chance with what we saw was a penalty in the first half and in the second half. But that I cannot control,” said interim head coach Norman Fegidero Jr.
The Philippines next plays the highest ranked team in the tournament Tajikistan, in the third place match tomorrow afternoon, while Malaysia will take on Lebanon for the Cup.
Jihad Ayoub’s early strike sealed Lebanon’s passage into the Final.
The Filipinos remained winless against the Malaysians since Nov. 28, 1991, when they scored a stunning 1-0 victory behind Fegidero’s Southeast Asian Games heroics at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
In the 27th minute Jefferson Tabinas opened the scoring with a heavily deflected effort, rewarding the persistence of Patrick Demuynck, Bjorn Kristensen, and Justin Baas in the buildup, as the Philippines was looking good in ending a 33-year winless streak against its regional rivals.
The Malaysians equalized four minutes from half-time, however, with Syamer Kutty Abba finessing a shot from outside the box from a corner a kick sequence.
A mistimed tackle in the 71st minute handed the advantage to Malaysia, though. Matt Baldisimo missed with his sliding challenge and was called for a penalty, which was expertly dispatched by Safawi Rasid.
Debutant JB Borlongan then came agonizingly close to delivering an assist in stoppage time, but his cross missed Jarvey Gayoso by centimeters and with it the opportunity to deny the Malaysians the victory.
