Pakistan comes back from two goals down against the Philippines in FIFA ASEAN Cup — Dawn

Pakistan's national team drew 2:2 with the Philippines in a Group B match of Division I of the FIFA ASEAN Cup, held in Bandung, Indonesia. The Pakistani team was two goals down but came back in the second half thanks to goals from Ali Akbar Khan and Abdul Samad Arshad.

As Dawn reports, these were Pakistan's first goals and first point in the national team's debut FIFA-sanctioned tournament. Before this match, Nolberto Solano's team lost 0:4 to Thailand.

Philippines' first-half advantage

The Philippines opened the scoring in the 24th minute. After a header, Mohibullah Afridi tipped the ball onto the crossbar, but Sandro Reyes was first to the rebound. In the 32nd minute, Mohammad Fazal handled the ball in the penalty area, and Bjorn Kristensen converted the penalty to make it 2:0.

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Pakistan also had chances before the break: Ali Akbar got into a shooting position, but his effort was saved by goalkeeper Kevin Ray Mendoza. Pakistan goalkeeper Yousuf Butt saved his team several times, including in a one-on-one situation with Andre Leipold.

Two goals after the break

At the start of the second half, Solano brought on Ali Agha and Hayyan Khattak in place of Alamgir Ghazi and Umar Nawaz. In the 47th minute, captain Abdullah Iqbal found Ali Akbar with a pass on the left flank. The forward beat a defender and fired the ball between Mendoza's legs, scoring his first goal for the national team.

Soon after, Abdul Samad Arshad won the ball on the right, entered the penalty area, shifted onto his left foot and equalized. It was his second goal for the national team. Abdul Rehman and Abdul Samad Khan made their debuts in the second half. Pakistan retained its chances in the group ahead of the final match against Vietnam.