The PMNFT is through to the semifinals of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup thanks to Bjorn Kristensen’s penalty conversion against Indonesia.
For the first time in six years, the Philippines will be playing in the semifinals of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup after slipping past Indonesia, 1-0, Saturday night at the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta, Indonesia.
A penalty spot conversion by Bjorn Kristensen, his fourth international goal for the Philippines in just nine appearances, in the 63rd minute was the difference-maker in the match that gave the Philippine Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT) the full three points and a passage to the semifinals, where they square off against defending champions Thailand in a two-part home-and-home series that begins on Dec. 27 at the Rizal Stadium.
The win gave the PMNFT six points in Group B, good enough for second place behind Vietnam, which finished top of the group with 10 points and will play Singapore in the other semifinal series. Indonesia finished third with four points, followed by Myanmar (four points) and Laos (two points).
It was a remarkable group stage finish by the PMNFT, who were in danger of missing out on the knockout stages of this biennial tournament for the third straight time after three straight draws. Instead, Kristensen sent them through with that penalty kick after video-assisted replay confirmed Marselino Ferdinan’s handball infraction inside the box.
Indonesia were reduced to 10 men after Muhammad Ferarri was sent off in the 42nd minute for an elbow to the chest of captain Amani Aguinaldo.
Unlike in their home match against Vietnam, where the PMNFT gave up a very late goal to see a sure three points turn into one, this time they protected their slim 1-0 lead until the final buzzer.
“Once we got the lead, I think we were very mature today,” said forward Alex Monis. “We learned from our last match against Vietnam and we kept the ball and we were able to see out the win.”
Celebrating a tough win
From the get-go, the odds were stacked against the PMNFT for this match. They went straight to the airport after their draw with Vietnam and flew out from Manila to Jakarta just hours later. When they arrived at the Indonesian capital, the team had to make a 500-kilometer trip to Surakarta in Central Java. That meant they only had Thursday night and Friday to rest, recover and practice before the big match.
It was against this backdrop that a weary PMNFT had to face a boisterous and hostile crowd of over 70,000 at the Manahan Stadium. Although Indonesian coach Shin Tae-Yong opted to field a relatively young and inexperienced squad for this tournament, the hosts were still the favorites to claim the second semifinal ticket since all they needed was a draw.
It was a tough spot to be in, one that the PMNFT shouldn’t have been in in the first place if they had just taken care of business in their three previous matches.
“The team already did a lot before and we should have already qualified,” said coach Albert Capellas. “But we couldn’t score goals with the chances that we created. That means we had to come here to Indonesia to play in a very difficult stadium against a difficult team. The players were really tired. I’m so happy for them to make this classification happen.
“The hard work, and the belief. People cannot really imagine, but the players are really tired. They are making a tremendous effort. Sometimes, also, the luck is on your side, and today it did help us. But it has not been easy. All classification is not easy. That is why I am so happy.”
Monis, the 18-year-old striker who is making his ASEAN Championship debut, was pleased to have been part of an important result.
“It feel amazing right now. I can’t really put it into words. The first few games were pretty difficult for us. I think we deserved more out of those matches. But we put in our hands for this match and we came out strong and deserved to win today.
“I’m happy for the whole country because they deserved this. It’s been a long time coming for the fans to be proud about something.”
“It’s amazing, an amazing feeling and achievement,” said substitute forward Patrick Reichelt, at 36 the elder statesman of this team and one of only three holdovers – along with Aguinaldo and Patrick Deyto – of the last PMNFT team to make it to the semifinals of this tournament. “This group of boys, this generation, if you had seen us, how this group had been bonding the last two weeks, it’s just been amazing. And we all, the coaching staff, everybody deserves it.”
Looking ahead to Thailand
Next up for the PMNFT are the defending champions, who swept all their matches in Group A but have looked shaky at times. The Philippines will have to make history if they are to advance to their first-ever ASEAN Championship final, for the PMNFT have never beaten the War Elephants in seven meetings in this competition.
The team can draw inspiration, though, from the fact that the 2014 and 2018 versions of the PMNFT held Thailand to draws at Rizal Stadium and Panaad Stadium, respectively. Those two matches drew sell-out crowds, and Capellas is hoping for the same on Dec. 27 after two rather disappointing Rizal Stadium crowd sizes against Myanmar and Vietnam.
“Now we are in the semifinals. As we always say, game by game. Let’s play at home against Thailand. I hope the crowd, the Filipinos, will support us as much as they can because we will need that.
“Now, we are here. We will try to do our best to reach the final. I’m very happy for all the Filipinos.
“I would love to have the support of the fans in the stadium. I would love to see a fuller stadium. The players deserve to have the full support of Filipinos. I always say we have to take the first step. And now we are here. The players did their job, and now we have to continue doing the job together.’
For Reichelt, Saturday night’s win was bittersweet as he won’t be with the team for the rest of the tournament since he has to fly back to Malaysia to be with his wife, who is giving birth soon.
“It was a bit emotional after the game for me and the boys. I will leave (Sunday) to support my wife. I’ll go home, prepare for the birth, and I’ll be the biggest supporter from back home.”
Reichelt says he has a good feeling about this current PMNFT team.
“It’s time to make history, and I know this group can make history. I think the Philippines was always just waiting for that next one big thing, that next Miracle of Hanoi. I just have this special feeling about this group now. I can just see it happen and I hope that we can wake up the Philippines, the next generation even, and have a big impact to what happens next in Philippine football.”
Monis says the team’s confidence is at an all-time high.
“We’re not afraid of anybody anymore. Thailand’s a great team and we have a lot of respect for them, but we showed that we can perform against Vietnam, Indonesia who are very good sides. So we’re going into this match confident. Of course, we respect them, but we know we can compete.”
Banner Images courtesy of the Philippine Football Federation.