Nine-man Philippines hold Indonesia

MANILA (AFP) –

Substitute James Younghusband, pictured in 2011, scored a superb goal and set up another as nine-man Philippines came back from a goal down twice to salvage a draw against Indonesia in a friendly Tuesday.

Substitute James Younghusband scored a superb goal and set up another as nine-man Philippines came back from a goal down twice to salvage a draw against Indonesia in a friendly Tuesday.

Winger Octavianus Maniani hared down the right and planted a pin-point cross onto the head of Indonesian striker Patrick Wanggai as the visitors took the lead against the run of play in the 57th minute.

The hosts were level within a minute though, Younghusband gratefully picking up the scraps to score after his fellow midfielder Angel Guirado had dispossessed defender Satrio Syam in the Indonesian box.

Striker Irfan Bachdim restored the Indonesians’ lead with a breakaway goal in the 62nd minute, but tempers boiled over with 11 minutes left on the clock after Filipino captain Emelio Caligdong was fouled near the byline.

Bachdim, Caligdong and fellow Filipino midfielder Manuel Ott all received their marching orders for fighting.

From the resulting free-kick James Younghusband nodded down from the far post and into the feet of younger brother and fellow substitute Phil.

The striker blasted an unstoppable shot past Markus Maulana in the Indonesian goal, and the match ended 2-2.

Coach Michael Weiss said the Philippines did enough to win the match, in which both sides initially kept some of their best players including the Younghusbands on the substitutes’ bench.

“We had more chances than opposition. Our goalkeeper almost did not touch the ball,” he said.

“We would have deserved a victory, but it wasn’t so, and we have to rectify it.”