Cole Mrowka on his first playing stint wearing Philippine-kit and scored his first international goal vs. Guam. PFF
By: Gil Moriones
MANILA -- The Philippine Men's National Football Team successfully secured its fifth win against Guam in their opener of the Tri-Nation Friendlies in a dominating 5-1 held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night, in front of a crowd of 2,243.
This marked the first time the PMNFT faced their Pacific counterparts in nearly six years, since their last meeting during the joint qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Cole Mrowka gave the home side an early lead in the 6th minute, slotting home a rebound after an initial save by Josiah Jones.
This is first international for the 20-year old midfielder of Columbus Crew as he enjoyed his first cap for the senior team alongside with Under-23 regular, Jaime Rosquillo.
Mrowka attempted another strike from outside the box in the 16th minute, but he was denied by Jones until their defense collapsed after a minute.
Jarvey Gayoso doubled the lead for the PMNFT as he pounced on a rebounded ball that was initially tapped away by the keeper, courtesy of a brilliant feed from captain Daisuke Sato.
Guam registered their first shot on target when Ethan Sablan broke free from his defenders following an excellent distribution from Jones, forcing Quincy Kammeraad into action to make the save.
Before first half ended, Santi Rublico then scored his first international goal in the 44th minute, leaving both a defender and the goalkeeper frozen with a composed finish off a long ball from Jeff Tabinas.
Guam managed to pull one back in the second half as Levi Berg capitalized on a crucial error by Rosquillo, who carelessly gave away the ball while attempting a back pass to Kammeraad in the 59th minute, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
However, Andrei Leipold made an instant impact off the bench, becoming the third player of the evening to score his their PMNFT goal, respectively. Gayoso provided a precise pass to locate Leipold, who easily tapped it home in the 62nd minute to make it 4-1.
Leipold closed out the scoring party in the 92nd minute, firing a shot into the roof of the net after Pocholo Bugas found him with plenty of space to convert his second goal of the evening.
The Guam XI will next face Myanmar on Saturday and the latter will clobber against the host on Tuesday to serve as the preview for their upcoming 2026 Hyundai Cup Group B face-off, next month.
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