Bjorn Kristensen kept his nerves from the spot as the Philippine Men’s National Football Team opened its ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Myanmar on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The Filipino-Norwegian — who drew the spot-kick himself — slipped his penalty past goalkeeper Zin Nyi Nyi Aung in the 71st minute to draw the home side level in front of the 1,589 fans inside the historic venue.
For coach Albert Capellas, though, failing to beat the team ranked 167th in the world was disappointing.
“It’s these kinds of games that you need to work hard to win because you usually need to win these kinds of games,” said the Spanish mentor. “We created so many chances. I’m very satisfied with the first half, the way that we played. We were sticking with the plan and we created lots of chances. Of course, we conceded an unnecessary goal. It came from a mistake from us but football is a game of mistakes. The mistake hit us hard but this is football and it is part of the game.”
Before Kristensen’s leveler, Mg Mg Lwin gave Myanmar the lead with a fantastic free kick in the 26th minute that went past goalkeeper Patrick Deyto. Ye Yint Aung then thought he gave the visitors a two-goal cushion in the 63rd minute, only for VAR to rule it out due to offside.
Come the final whistle, though, the home side was left to lament its wastefulness in front of goal. Throughout the match, the likes of Zico Bailey, Christian Rontini, and Kristensen all had chances to add the the Philippines’ tally but none of them managed to do so.
“The first half was good. There were a lot of chances and a lot of situations where we could have scored. We needed to finish with more calmness and use less power. The second half, there were ups and downs but I’m much less happy because the game was open and we gave away even more chances because of us and not because they deserve it,” added Capellas.
Both the Philippines and Myanmar – which started its campaign with a 1-0 home loss to Indonesia last Monday – now have a point in Group B.
On the other hand, Indonesia is currently on top of Group B with four points after it followed up its win over Myanmar with a 3-3 home draw against Laos.
Capellas’ side will seek its first win against Laos this Sunday in Vientiane while Myanmar will also face Laos but on Wednesday at its home pitch.
