Still proud: Viet Nam and the Philippines vie for the ball in the AFF Suzuki Cup football match yesterday. Viet Nam lost to the Philippines 1-0. — Photo dantri.com.vn

HA NOI (VNS)— Viet Nam's national team lost to the Philippines 0-1 in the second match of the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup at Rajamangala Stadium in Thailand yesterday.

In the first minutes of the match, Viet Nam took initative to attack the Philippines' goal. Tan Tai had an opportunity to open the score in the third minute, but his shot did not cause any difficulty for goalkeeper Eduard Sacapano.

During the following minutes, Viet Nam controlled the ball but the Philippine defenders blocked the approach to the goal. The first half ended in a 0-0 draw.

After playing defence in the first half, the Philippines increased attacks from the right wing which led to a shot by Philip Younghusband in the 49th minute. Luckily, he didn't succeed in making a goal.

Viet Nam's coach Phan Thanh Hung changed striker Le Cong Vinh for Nguyen Quang Hai and Pham Thanh Luong for Nguyen Van Quyet, but the newcomers didn't encounter any dangerous situations.

While Viet Nam were trying to make a goal, the Philippines raised the score 1-0 thanks to Emelio Caligdong in the 85th minute. The remaining time was not enough for Viet Nam to equalise the score and they resigned themselves to losing the match.

Speaking after the match, coach Hung said: "This is the worst match Viet Nam have played since I was appointed to be head coach. We deserved to lose this game."

"Viet Nam have faced two rivals playing solid defence in the first two matches. We prepared carefully to break their defence but in fact, our men didn't play as they did during training."

Meanwhile, the Philippine coach Michael Weiss said that the players followed his instructions well, especially the defenders.

On Saturday, Viet Nam drew 1-1 with Myanmar in the opening game.

In the last match of the qualification round on Friday, Viet Nam will play against hosts Thailand, who beat the Philippines 2-1. Viet Nam will still have a chance to progress to the quarterfinals if they defeat Thailand and the Philippines loses to Myanmar. — VNS