The Philippines will come into their match against Thailand a much better fighting team as the second leg of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 semifinals is played before an expected hostile crowd at 9 p.m. on Monday at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
“I never go for a draw. We go for a win and then let’s see if we can win, if we can draw, or whatever result happens. I never play for a draw. Philippines, we are winners,” said coach Albert Capellas.
Capellas said this after the Philippine team pulled off a monumental 2-1 upset of Thailand on Friday evening at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The Philippines now has the momentum going into their next match and they hope to bring this into the final stage.
During the first leg, the Thais played without attacking midfielder Ekanit, who was injured during a training session. He would most likely play for the War Elephants at home and for the remainder of the tournament.
For the Philippines, skipper Amani Aguinaldo is expected to return to action after serving his one-game suspension.
The Filipino side will bring with them the experience they gained from the first leg, with Capellas getting an idea on how to deal with the War Elephants.
“In the second half, we didn’t start well, especially in the first 15 to 20 minutes. We suffered a lot. Of course, they had to push and try to score. They were better than us. We had problems, especially on the left side with the long balls. We didn’t apply enough pressure on the ball, and we didn’t drop back early enough. That caused us to suffer a bit too much. But now, we’ll work on this, try to learn, and aim to solve these issues for the second leg, ” added Capellas.
The Philippines won after Filipino Spanish booter Enrique “Kike” Linares found an opportunity to score within the fifth minute of added time.
Vietnam, which took the first-leg semis with a 2-0 triumph over Singapore at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Kallan, Malaysia last week, will seek a second victory in their next match with the Singaporeans at the Viet Tri Stadium.
