KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Needing a win to keep their hopes of advancing to the semifinals alive, Philippines' campaign in the ASEAN Championship came to an end on Saturday after Malaysia outplayed the Filipinos to secure a 1-0 victory in front of 12,734 supporters at Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium.
The Filipinos finished the group stage in fourth place with one win and three losses, and exit the tournament considerably earlier than their dream run to the semis two years ago.
"It was a game, again, of small margins," said Philippines coach Carles Cuadrat in the post-match news conference. "[Malaysia] scored because we made a mistake in that action. We allowed the cross, we allowed the header."
"So in the end, it's our moment to say goodbye to the competition. We were not good enough to get the qualification."
Cuadrat had retained the same starting XI from the Thailand home game but shifted to a three-man backline, with Javier Mariona and Kenji Nishioka operating on the flanks.
It was Malaysia who started the match on the front foot, determined to secure the three points and clinch their place in the knockout stages alongside Thailand -- who defeated Myanmar 2-0 in the other Group B match at Rajamangala Stadium.
G. Pavithran put the hosts ahead in the 16th minute, heading Wan Kuzain's cross past Patrick Deyto.
Malaysia's attacking pressure continued as Kuzain was once again involved 11 minutes later, but his cross into the box was cleared away by Adrian Ugelvik. Philippines had their lone clear chance of the first half in the 34th minute, when Mariona forced a touch from Azri Ghani to earn a corner.
Malaysia dominated possession at 59% and registered three shots on target, while Philippines managed just one shot on target.
Harimau Malaya continued where they left off after the break, with Rodney Celvin forcing another save from Deyto in the 68th minute.
Philippines, however, continued to push for an equalizer.
Pocholo Bugas, who replaced Oskari Kekkonen at halftime, rifled away a shot from just outside the box in the 75th minute but could only send it over the crossbar.
Malaysia came close to doubling the advantage four minutes from time as Deyto was already well beaten by Pavithran, but substitute Jaime Rosquillo made a last-ditch tackle to clear the ball to safety.
Philippines continued to push for an equalizer in the closing stages, but Malaysia held firm to secure the victory and advance to the last four.
Despite the loss, Cuadrat remains confident in the youth-laden squad's future.
"I'm happy of the learnings that the players have taken from it," added Cuadrat.
"We have players who are 20 years old, so it's going to be an experience that is going to work well for us in the future."
For Philippines, the defeat brings their ASEAN Championship campaign to an end. But with a young squad gaining valuable experience on the international stage, the tournament could prove to be another important step in the team's development.