Beloya’s two late goals lift U-23 Azkals over Laos

By Sid Ventura | Sportsaholic

On an 11/11/11 playdate, it was perhaps fitting that the player wearing jersey no. 11 would rescue the Philippines from another loss.
Down a man and a goal and just minutes from elimination, the U-23 Azkals turned to substitute Joshua Beloya, who scored two goals in the last three minutes to give the Philippine side a pulsating 3-2 win over Laos in the football competition of the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta.
It was the first win for the U2-3 Azkals in Group B, giving them three points to leapfrog over their victims and Brunei, who now both share the cellar with one point apiece. But for majority of the second half, Laos was seemingly on its way to notching its first win and moving up to four points. That is, until fate, luck, the power of the number 11, or whatever you want to call it intervened.
Manny Ott gave the Philippines an early lead, gathering a pass from Jinggoy Valmayor to slot home a goal in the seventh minute. But Laos, showing better form in the midfield, equalized in the 38th off a cross from Soukhaphone Vongch that found captain Lamnao Singto, who easily found the back of the net. Singto gave Laos the lead in the 46th, his fourth goal of the tournament, and it looked like the Philippines' campaign in Jakarta was headed to a premature end.
Things only got worse for the U-23 Azkals after defender Patrick Hinrichsen was sent off in the 61st minute for drawing two yellow cards in succession. Down to 10 men and needing to score, Coach Hans Michael Weiss sent in Mark Hartmann in the 61st minute for an ineffective OJ Clarino, in hopes of improving the Philippines' attack.
The move paid off as Hartmann breathed new life into the Azkals' attack, and nearly scored the equalizer in the 66th with a low free kick that was on target but was batted out at the last possible second by the Laotian keeper.
Laos kept its defense solid and nearly scored a couple of times on counter-attacks, and with the match approaching injury time, it seemed the Philippines was going to absorb its third straight setback. But in the 90th minute, Hartmann beat the offside trap and, barely onside, had only the keeper to beat. The Loyola Meralco Sparks mainstay waited for the keeper to commit before passing off to Beloya, who easily tapped the ball in for the equalizer.
With three minutes of injury time added, a stunned Laos tried to salvage a win and stepped up its attack. But the Philippines held firm, and a perfect long ball from Hartmann found Beloya advancing from top of the box. The substitute striker gathered the pass perfectly, juggled the ball a bit to shake off his defender, then found the back of the net from a strike from close range in the 93rd minute.
Moments later, the referee blew his final whistle, and the U-23 Azkals incredibly found themselves still in contention.
The team badly needed this win, not only to avoid elimination but to also lift their sagging morale, which had hit rock bottom following their 1-2 loss to Timor Leste and reports that captain Matthew Hartmann was sent home as a disciplinary measure.
For Laos, it was a bitter loss. They controlled the tempo of the match, and had a 55-45 advantage in possession. Yet despite being a man up and facing a depleted Philippine back line, they just could not find an insurance goal and seemed to relax in the end game.
The Philippines is not yet out of the woods, though. Vietnam and Myanmar share first place in Group B with seven points, while Timor Leste isn't far behind at solo third with six. The junior Azkals, now at fourth with three points, face Myanmar in Sunday, and obviously need to win again. Myanmar thrashed Brunei, 4-0, and also came from behind to beat Laos, 3-2. They drew with Vietnam.