Philippines beats Maldives, 2-1

The Philippine men’s national football team, the Azkals, pulled off a 2-1 victory over the Maldives last Thursday at the Maldives National Football Stadium in the second round of the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds.
The Azkals saw a prime opportunity in the first half after Maldives defender Aisam Ibrahim was booked for a handball; however, striker Patrick Reichelt, who previously played for Ceres-Negros FC, saw his penalty attempt saved by goalkeeper Mohamed Faisal.
The two sides went into halftime drawn, 0-0.
Shortly into the second half, midfielder Iain Ramsay, another Ceres FC alumnus, scored in the 52nd minute. Midfielder John-Patrick Strauss then doubled the lead in the 68th minute.
Unfortunately for the Philippines, goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who plays for plays for English Football League Championship club Cardiff City, was unable to maintain a clean sheet as striker Naiz Hassan scored a consolation goal for the Maldives in stoppage time.
The Philippines is currently tied on seven points with China in Group A after the Chinese side fell 2-1 to Syria.
It was earlier reported, Azkals head coach Goran Milojević announced the same squad will be fielded when they meet Syria again next week, November 19, in Dubai, UAE./ASC, WDJ