Enrique Linares’ last-minute goal in stoppage time handed the Philippines its first victory over Thailand for the first time in 52 years as it took the lead in their two-legged semifinal clash in the 2024 ASEAN Championship AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup on Friday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The 25-year-old defender found the back of the net past Thai keeper Patiwat Khammai to secure a 2-1 win for the home bets before a strong-7,116 crowd days after Christmas Day.
Sandro Reyes opened the scoring for the Philippine Men’s National Football Team in the 21st minute with a left-footed shot outside the box after meeting Alex Monis’ cross from the right side.
However, Thailand’s Suphanan Bureerat countered on the other end right at the last minute of the first half after outgunning the defenders to equalize for his side.
This is the first time that the visiting Southeast Asian football powerhouse lost to the Philippines since 1972 in the Jakarta Cup.
Just two months prior in the King’s Cup, the Thais fashioned a 3-1 victory over the Filipinos in the semifinal to rule the tournament for its 16th title.
The 52-year drought finally came to an end as the Philippines converted a set piece off Linares’ header from close range to the bottom left corner after an assist from Paul Tabinas.
It didn’t matter in the end that Thailand had 58% of possession and carried out more shots on target than the Philippines.
The Philippines hasn’t scored two goals all tournament long, with its first three games in the group stage ending in similar 1-1 draws, and the match against Indonesia ending in 1-0.
The second goal against the Thais could not have come at the most perfect time to make history before a delighted home crowd.
As it stands, the Filipinos now only need a draw at the very least against Thailand in Leg 2 of their semifinal affair to march into the championship stage or any win with two more goals ahead.
“I’m very happy [about] the supporters and fans [for coming]. I’m very happy for the players because they never gave up. They played a very good 35-40 minute game. I’m very proud for the first 40 minutes. In the second half, we suffered more. But we handled it together and we never lost hope. They are fighters, they believed, they fight so much for this country,” said PMNFT head coach Albert Capellas.
The Philippines is heading to Bangkok on Sunday to play the second leg of the playoffs the following day.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
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