National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) U21 Philippines's Hubert Liclican started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Rūsiņs Rozenbaum recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 3rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. When U21 Latvia's Jurģis Lielgalvis in the 6th minute got a chance for a shot 6th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye U21 Philippines's goalie prevented a goal. U21 Latvia's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Rūsiņs Rozenbaum in the 7th minute. After 8 played minutes U21 Latvia got a freekick which was hit by Ritvaldis Kozbegs. The audience was convinced that Rūsiņs Rozenbaum's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Montrelle Borromeo was relentless in the 10th minute of the game. Rūsiņs Rozenbaum sent away a hard shot on goal in the 13th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ingvars Kuckaitis kicked well hit freekick during the 14th minute of the match. Montrelle Borromeo showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rūsiņs Rozenbaum in the 18th minute of the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 22nd minute, Rūsiņs Rozenbaum managed to get in a good position for a shot. U21 Latvia's supporters rose to their feet, but Rūsiņs Rozenbaum was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Montrelle Borromeo breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hubert Liclican in the 25th minute of play forced U21 Latvia's goalkeeper Intars Baums to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some careless play in the U21 Philippines defense, Jurģis Lielgalvis kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Montrelle Borromeo. The U21 Philippines fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Montrelle Borromeo should have stopped the shot. In the 32nd minute Rūsiņs Rozenbaum shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Montrelle Borromeo saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 34 minutes into the game, Rūsiņs Rozenbaum cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Montrelle Borromeo was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Jurģis Lielgalvis sent away a hard shot on goal in the 37th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. In the 38thth minute of the game Rūsiņs Rozenbaum who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but U21 Philippines's Montrelle Borromeo was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. In the 40th minute, Ansis Kapeika-Rublis hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Montrelle Borromeo showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Jurģis Lielgalvis in the 45th minute of the match. In the 47th minute, Rūsiņs Rozenbaum left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The U21 Latvia fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-3. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-3 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Jurģis Lielgalvis received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 52nd minute. Montrelle Borromeo tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When U21 Philippines's Hubert Liclican in the 56th minute got a chance for a shot 56th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye U21 Latvia's goalie prevented a goal. In the 59th match minute, U21 Latvia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ritvaldis Kozbegs to maneuver through the defense. 60 minutes into the game, Inguns Meijerovics was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 Latvia's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 Philippines the free kick. In the 60th minute, one of U21 Latvia:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for U21 Latvia. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Rūsiņs Rozenbaum in the 65th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Montrelle Borromeo prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After 66 minutes U21 Philippines's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Rūsiņs Rozenbaum who took care of the corner kick. U21 Latvia's Rūsiņs Rozenbaum was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Montrelle Borromeo in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. Intars Baums showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Hubert Liclican, who was totally free with the ball in the 69th minute. After 70 played minutes U21 Latvia got a freekick which was hit by Ansis Kapeika-Rublis. In the 73rd minute, Ben Echin hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. With a little luck, U21 Philippines's Montrelle Borromeo got control of the ball when Rūsiņs Rozenbaum tried to sneak it across the goal line. Intars Baums showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Hubert Liclican in the 76th minute of the match. In the 77th minute Rūsiņs Rozenbaum shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Montrelle Borromeo saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Rūsiņs Rozenbaum did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 0-4 to the left of a surprised Montrelle Borromeo 81 minutes into the match. Montrelle Borromeo took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rūsiņs Rozenbaum, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Rūsiņs Rozenbaum in the 87th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Montrelle Borromeo prevented the ball from getting in the gole. In the 89th match minute, U21 Philippines was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Cipriano Suntay to maneuver through the defense. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched U21 Latvia eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.