THE Philippine men's national football team remained unbeaten in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers after settling for a draw with Yemen, 2-2, Tuesday at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod.
The Younghusband brothers, Phil and James, scored on opposite halves as they fell from behind twice against the fast-attacking Yemeni side.
With Yemen looking to counter each time they can, the Azkals struggled early to match the pace of the visiting team.
Defender Mudir Al-Radaei scored the opener for the visitors off the set-piece on the 26th minute as he squeezed in the header past Neil Etheridge through the corner of the near post to stun the Panaad crowd.
But the hosts quickly answered, with Phil Younghusband curling his ball past the wall in the free kick to tie the knot at one apiece in the 29th minute.
The Azkals skipper padded his squad-leading goal tally to 47 in the process.
That dreaded counter-attack for Yemen finally resulted into a goal as forward Abdilwasea Al-Matari beat everyone on the attack.
Thankfully, the Azkals had one more fight in them with Manny Ott connecting well with James Younghusband of a free kick in the 71st minute to secure at least a point for the Azkals.
The victory allowed the Azkals to remain on top of the group with 7 points after the first three games.
Yemen, on the other hand, stayed at second place with five points in the group stages where the top two teams will qualify.
The two teams will face off again on October 10 as the Azkals face Yemen on neutral grounds in Qatar.
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