ILOILO City - Ten-man Philippines fought defending champion Tajikistan to a scoreless draw in a highly-physical encounter yesterday to keep their qualification hopes alive in the AFC Challenge Cup Group B Qualifiers here.
Playing resolute defense from start to finish, the Filipinos survived the sending off of defender Jason Cordova in the 21st to hammer out the hard-earned draw in front of a huge crowd at the Iloilo Sports Complex.
Cordova, a 5-foot-10 defender from Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, was red-carded in the 21st minute for punching Tajikistan striker Khamikov Numondzhon in the face.
Such was the highly-physical nature of the match that four Tajik players were booked, while Anton Del Rosario, who was also impressive on defense, was the lone RP player that was yellow-carded.
Del Rosario got involved in a halftime scuffle with Tajik defender Zafardzhon Zuvaydov as both teams headed into the dugout, before cooler heads prevailed.
Still, it was a famous result for the Filipinos, who, at No. 189, are ranked 24 places below the Tajikistanis in the latest Fifa world rankings.
National coach Norman Fegidero expressed satisfaction over the result that puts them level on points with the Tajiks, who are ahead on goal difference because of their 3-1 victory over Bhutan Tuesday.
The Philippines will face Bhutan on Saturday, while Tajikistan takes on Brunei.
“We played very well. It’s a good result for us,” said Fegidero. “We played very tight and we showed them we were well-prepared”.
Defender Aly Borromeo, the pillar of the RP defense, said the red card on Cordova only “made the team stronger.”
“They think they would come here and overwhelm us but we proved them wrong. The red card only made us stronger,” Borromeo said.
The Philippines opted for a defensive tack and Tajikistan was forced to a host of half-chances with the best coming from Sohib Savankulov, whose 34th minute effort from 20 yards whistled inches off the right top corner.
Three minutes later, though, the Filipinos should have taken the lead when goalkeeper Neil Etheridge’s punt found an unmarked Phil Younghusband on the attacking third but the striker’s lofted effort that went over Tajik keeper Alisher Tuychiev sailed just wide. (PFF Media Bureau)
