PHL football team makes history, stuns Vietnam

The Philippines stunned defending champion Vietnam, 2-0, in their Group B match on Sunday in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup in Hanoi, Vietnam. Television commentators called it the biggest shock in the tournament's history. The hosts were shut out by the Philippine side's strapping 20-year-old goalkeeper, Filipino-British Neil Etheridge. "I'm pinching myself, I'm not sure we have done what we have done," said an elated PHL coach Simon McMenemy at the post-match briefing in Hanoi. "I keep thinking I'll wake up in bed in the Sheraton hotel and we'll still have the game to play." Chris Greatwich and Phil Younghusband struck for the Philippines as the underdog squad earned an all-important three points and endangered the hosts' title-defense bid in the Southeast Asian region's equivalent of the Asian Football Cup. The Philippines had to qualify to compete in this tournament, then played favorite Singapore to a 1-1 draw, before defeating powerhouse Vietnam before a home crowd. The hosts had demolished Myanmar, 7-1, in its previous match. The Filipino-British Greatwich scored in the 38th minute, his shot silencing 40,000 Vietnamese fans that watched the match at the My Dinh National Stadium. Disciplined defense by the Filipinos thwarted the hosts' offensive thrusts, and the Philippines took a 1-0 halftime lead. Stung, the Vietnamese mounted furious attacks early in the second half, leading to several scoring chances, but PHL goalie Etheridge proved stalwart in snuffing all attempts by the increasingly desperate hosts. "We knew we could defend, we knew we were disciplined enough but we didn't know if we could go up the other end and score goals," McMenemy said. "We knew that would be our issue so we worked hard in training on simple things like converting breakaways when we are on the run." After a miscue by the Vietnamese goalie, forward Ian Araneta had a sorry miss at an undefended goal in one of PHL's few but effective counter-attacks. It was Younghusband who added an insurance goal in the 79th minute to finally silence the boisterous home crowd that had continuously cheered their squad on to score an equalizer. Younghusband shook off his defender and faked out the Vietnamese goalie before calmly flicking the ball into the back of the net. The win by the 151st-ranked Philippines against Vietnam, 13 notches higher in the FIFA world rankings, was the biggest upset in the tournament, and perhaps even in the history of Southeast Asian football. The AFF Suzuki Cup is a biennial football competition organized by the ASEAN Football Federation and contested by the national teams of Southeast Asia. - Jon Perez/KY/RCJ/HS, GMANews.TV