BANDUNG, Indonesia — The Philippine men’s football team surrendered a two-goal halftime advantage and settled for a 2-2 draw against Pakistan in the FIFA ASEAN Cup on Tuesday at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium.
Sandro Reyes and Bjorn Kristensen gave the Philippines a 2-0 lead in the first half, but Pakistan erased the deficit after halftime through Ali Khan and Abdul Samad.
Reyes opened the scoring in the 24th minute when he bundled the ball into the net amid confusion in Pakistan’s defense. The goal marked his sixth for the Philippine national team.
Kristensen doubled the advantage eight minutes later after converting a penalty kick for his 14th international goal.
Pakistan responded shortly after halftime when Khan fired past Philippine goalkeeper Kevin Ray Mendoza.
Samad then completed the comeback with a counterattack, beating Mendoza near the post to level the match.
The result gave coach Carles Cuadrat and the Philippines their first point in Group B after a 1-0 loss to defending ASEAN Cup champion Vietnam in their opening match last Saturday.
The draw also left the Philippines with little room to advance to the final as group winner or the bronze final as runner-up.
The Philippines will close its group-stage campaign against Thailand on Friday at the same stadium.
For Pakistan, the draw marked a notable result for a team that, according to a FIFA match report, had recorded only one win in FIFA World Cup qualifying and five victories in continental competition.
