hurrying to take the first move on the stadium as the confident hosts sought to surprise them at the early minutes. Amirbek Juraboev made a surprise pass to Jahongir Aliev but the latter missed. Soon after, Mike Ott responded with a similar header in 10', but also missed. Just two minutes later, Jahongir Ergashev made a response with a header, but it went wide. The next minutes saw the hosts beginning to overpower the Tajiks, but every attempt ended in failure. The Tajiks made some headline in 34' with a free kick, but Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev sent it beyond his teammates. Simone Rota in 37' had a chance to give the Philippines the lead from a corner kick but he aimed his shot high. In injury time of the first half, Davron Ergashev tried his luck from a direct free kick but was blocked by the wall. His handball appeal was later dismissed by Australian referee Jarred Gillett, making the first half goalless. The second half saw the Philippines having the first chance by Phil Younghusband, but no other player could get into the ball as it went straight to Abduaziz Mahkamov's hands. Then, the Tajiks had a chance to score, but the Philippines' defence reacted quickly. In 61', the visitors suddenly made a breakthrough thanks to a skillful display from Aliev, whom his passing to captain Nuriddin Davronov forced Daisuke Sato to foul him in the penalty area. Akhtam Nazarov successfully converted the penalty to give the Tajiks an important lead in 64'. The Philippines, after being led, increased pressure and it took only 10 minutes for the hosts to equalise. A brilliant pass by Iain Ramsay, after receiving the ball from Phil Younghusband, provided a header for Kevin Ingreso to score. With the Tajiks struggling to find the way to Neil Etheridge's net, a powerful free kick by Ingreso allowed substitute Patrick Reichelt to infiltrate the Tajik defense, giving the hosts an important penalty when Iskandar Dzhalilov kicked Patrick Reichelt's chest. Phil Younghusband converted the penalty to give the Philippines a historic 2–1 lead in front of emphatic home fans. Before the end of the game, Carli de Murga and Jahongir Ergashev collided with each other and was followed by Fatkhuloev punching de Murga's face, causing a brawl in the field. Referee Gillett did not hesitate to give Dennis Villanueva a straight red card before giving Fatkhuloev another yellow