Malaysia and the Philippines play out a bore draw in friendly

Good hands: Goalkeeper Mohd Khairulazhan Khalid saved a shot from Philippines striker Misagh Bahadoran to help Malaysia keep a clean sheet in their friendly in Manila yesterday.

PETALING JAYA: It was Malaysia’s first international football match of the year – and it showed as they dished out a drab goalless draw against the Philippines.

The Philippines, ranked 124th in the world, wanted badly to win the friendly at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila yesterday. A win would have greatly improved their chances of moving into the top 100 of FIFA’s world ranking by next year.