The Philippine Men’s National team yielded to China PR, 8-1, in a FIFA international friendly match last night at the Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Centre Stadium.
The match was in preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match against Tajikistan which will be played on Tuesday, 13 June in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
China raced to a two-goal lead inside the first thirty minutes of the match scoring in the fourth and 26th minute.
Misagh Bahadoran’s gave the Philippines hope with a 33rd minute goal. Mike Ott forced the goalkeeper off his line which allowed Iain Ramsay to find Bahadoran for the finish.
However, China added a third goal to take a 3-1 lead at the half before scoring five unanswered goals in the second half. Despite the scoreline, goalkeeper Patrick Deyto still managed to pull off a penalty save against Zhang Xizhe in the 67th minute.
PFF President Mariano V. Araneta was in attendance for the friendly match. “We hope that the team will bounce back. It was just a friendly, and the more important match will be against Tajikistan in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.”
The Azkals now shift their sights on the more important match against Tajikistan next week.
Photo from the Chinese Football Association
