Philippines loses to Malaysia

By Adrian Stewart Co

The Philippine men’s national U-23 football team opened their 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualifying campaign with a 3-0 loss to host squad Malaysia last Friday at the Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor, Malaysia.

Akhyar Rashid fired two goals, while Faisal Abdul Halim added another one as the Malaysians drew first blood in the tournament.

The Malaysians did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard with Rashid easily breaking the Philippine side’s defense with a conversion in the fourth minute. The Philippines was unable to respond with their opponents tightening their defense.

Rashid went onto double their lead before the break.

The Philippines were still unable to penetrate Malaysia’s defense in the second half, where the home team put the match out of reach with a goal from Halim./ASC, WDJ