MANILA — The Philippine men’s under-22 football team escaped with a 1-1 draw against Cambodia in Day 1 of the Southeast Asian Games men’s football tournament at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Monday night.
Dennis Chung, who came in as a late substitute for Dylan De Bruycker, broke the heart of the Cambodian side as he scored the equalizer for the U22 Azkals in the second minute of the second half stoppage time to cancel out Keo Sokpheng’s 41st minute goal and force the splitting of the points.
The development forced a four-way tie between the two teams, Malaysia, and Myanmar for the top spot in Group A with one point each.
Malaysia and Myanmar battled to a 1-1 draw earlier Monday.
Timor Leste, the fifth team in the group, had no opponent on the opening night and will only debut on Wednesday night against Cambodia.
Meanwhile, in the lone Group B match at the Biñan Football Stadium here, Vietnam mauled Brunei, 6-0, behind a four-goal showing from Ha Duc Chinh and strikes from Trieu Viet Hung and Nguyen Trung Hong.
Group B action continues on Tuesday night with Thailand taking on Indonesia and Laos battling Singapore back at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. (PNA)