Merlion Cup: PH U-22 side falls to Singapore

A Philippine Under-22 team made up of collegiate standouts absorbed a 0-3 defeat to its Singaporean counterpart last Friday night at the start of the Merlion Cup at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Amiruldin Asraf, Irfan Fandi and Ikhsan Fandi were on target for the Singaporeans, who will move on to the final against Thailand, a 2-1 winner over Indonesia in the other semifinal.

The U-22 Azkals of coach Anto Gonzales are using the Merlion Cup as part of their preparations for the Southeast Asian Games late this year.

And they did get off to a decent start with Shanden Vergara unleashing a speculative effort five minutes into the match. Captain Jarvey Gayoso also had a golden opportunity in the 10th minute, but his effort was stopped by Singaporean keeper Zharfan Rohaizad.

The hosts took the lead in the 25th minute when Amiruldin Asraf capitalized on a mistake to beat Michael Asong.

Irfan’s header in the 62nd minute doubled the lead for the Singaporeans, who sealed the win when substitute Ikhsan scored on the counterattack five minutes later. The Philippines will meet Indonesia on Sunday in the battle for third place.