Having become the first nation to score against Vietnam at the AFF Suzuki Cup, even a 2-1 first leg defeat is not enough to deter the Philippines from believing that they can turn that around in next week’s second leg in Hanoi.

Patrick Reichelt’s stoppage time strike cancelled out a Nguyen Anh Duc effort to send the teams to the break locked at 1-1 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod only for an early second half goal from Phan Van Duc to seal the win for Vietnam.

The away goals could well be crucial for the Golden Stars but for Azkals forward Phil Younghusband the tie is far from over.

“They get so many bodies behind the ball that they’re difficult to break down and maybe if we didn’t score we would’ve gone into the next game thinking it’s a bigger challenge but knowing that we can score against them gives us confidence going into the second leg.”

The Azkals all-time leading scorer believes that the delicately poised nature of the tie could even play into his team’s hands given that they know they must score twice on the road.

“It’s means that we now need to go for things in the second game and I think that will suit us better knowing that we have to go and score rather than sitting back.

“They’re a young team and I think we showed today that we can get at them and create chances and if we can stop them scoring we’ve got a chance so for me I think it’s all to play for – it’s a one goal difference and we’ve seen bigger miracles in football before and I think we still have a chance.”