Indonesia 2-2 Philippines: Late Younghusband blast salvages point for Azkals

Hosts Philippines positioned themselves to advance to the AFF Suzuki Cup semifinals with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Singapore on Tuesday night.

Indonesia lept into the lead in the 7th minute when Stefano Lilipaly’s free kick was well met by Fachrudin Aryanto, who rose up between two Filipino goalkeepers to head the ball home.

The Azkals pushed for an equaliser, with the crowd cheering in approval with each possession. A fine run in the 24th minute by Stephan Schrock looked like it could have set up a goal, but Misagh Bahadoran’s sliding shot went wide left.

The hosts finally evened up the score in the 31st minute when Bahadoran guided in in Schrock’s free kick from in front of the goal.

Indonesia nearly responded just two minutes later when Rudolof Basna and Boas Salossa battled the Philippines defense in front of the net; the latter managed to tap the ball into an empty net but the goal was called offside.

Philippines pressed for the advantage early in the second half with Schrock’s hearty attempt from the edge of the box going wide right. In the 58th minute, Roland Muller’s spectacular save tipped Stefano’s strong shot just wide of the goal.

The 68th minute saw Indonesia retake the lead, with Andik Vermansyah’s shot clanging off the post before Boas quickly rushed to stuff in the rebound.

A brilliant free kick in the 83rd minute by striker Phil Younghusband set the stadium ablaze, sailing over the wall and past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Kurnia Hermansyah.

Taiwanese referee Yu Ming-Tsun struggled to maintain control of the match as altercations between the two sides increased, handing out six yellow cards in total.

Muller delivered another fine save on Ferdinand Sinaga’s attempt from distance in stoppage time, and after final whistle it was Thomas Dooley’s men who stood in second place in Group A ahead of their do-or-die clash against Thailand on Friday.