U-23 Azkals fall to Vietnam

By Sid Ventura | Sportsaholic

The Philippines, back after a six-year absence, was given a rude "welcome back" by Vietnam and fell 1-3, at the start of the football competition in the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Vietnamese, silver medalists in 2009, controlled possession 71% of the time, but found themselves trailing 0-1 after Fil-German Manny Ott scored on a strike from the top of the penalty off a back heel pass from Mark Hartmann in the 37th minute.
The U-23 Azkals narrowly missed going up 2-0 in the 51st minute when OJ Porteria hit the far post from a strike from the right flank. It would turn out to be their last and best chance to score as Vietnam dominated the rest of the match. The Philippines could get nothing going offensively in the second half, relying mostly on long balls that were easily read by the Vietnamese defense. Meanwhile, Vietnam constantly attacked the left side of the Philippine defense, getting several balls in as left back Neckson Leonora was simply overmatched.
It was only a matter of time before Vietnam scored given the Philippines' porous defense, but the equalizer came from an own goal by Matt Hartmann in the 59th minute. Attempting to clear a ball in from a Vietnamese midfielder, Hartmann miscalculated his header and accidentally found the back of the net. Everything just went downhill from there.
In the 73rd, goalkeeper Roland Muller punched the ball directly to Vietnamese midfielder Le Van Thang, who easily scored on an open net as Muller couldn't recover in time. Then in the last minute of injury time, Nguyen Van Quyet deftly outmaneuvered Matt Hartmann to unleash a left-footed strike that caught the edge of the post and curled in.
The shaky defensive line of the Philippines plus Vietnam's efficient passing more than justified the final score, but in reality it could have easily been 5-1 or 6-1 were it not for the excellent goalkeeping of Muller, who thwarted at least three Vietnamese attacks that looked like sure goals.
The Junior Azkals try to regroup on Monday when they battle Timor Leste at 5PM Manila time. They can still make it to the medal round but need to avoid a second loss in their remaining four matches. The good news is that Vietnam is the strongest team in Group B.
Vietnam lost in the gold medal match against Malaysia two years ago on a painful own goal in the 85th minute, their only loss in the tournament.