Philippines blasts Timor Leste to keep Group A lead of AFC Asia Cup Qualifiers in New Clark City Stadium

THE Philippines overcame a one-goal deficit before repeating over Timor Leste, 3-1, to maintain the Group A lead of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday night in Capas, Tarlac.

After a listless first half that enabled João Rangel to give Timor a 1-nil edge, the hosts flipped a switch and responded with three goals in the last 45 minutes to escape the blushes in front of home fans at the New Clark City Stadium.

Jefferson Tabinas delivered the equalizer off a counter barely two minutes into the second then Bjørn Kristensen, the Fil-Norwegian ace who struck four times in their previous 4-1 disposal of Timor in Darwin, slotted the go-ahead in the 70th. Jarvey Gayoso knocked in No. 3 for the hosts in the first minute of stoppage time.

With the sweep of Timor, the Philippines hiked its record to a leading 10 points on three wins and a draw and a +8 goal difference, ahead of Tajikistan (10 points, +6 GD), which scored a 3-0 away victory over Maldives.

“It was really a bad first half for us so we talked about it at halftime and made everyone realize how crucial this game was. So I’m happy with how the team reacted and showed a different spirit (in turning the game around in the second half,” said Philippine coach Carles Cuadrat. — Olmin Leyba