Borromeo praises gallant Philippines

Long regarded as one of the whipping boys of Asean football, the Philippines stunned the footballing fraternity by claiming a last-ditch 1-1 draw with Singapore before producing a shocking 2-0 victory over defending champions Vietnam.

Their brilliant exploits earned them a semi-final date with Indonesia and despite an eventual 0-2  aggregate loss to the latter, Borromeo was anything but discouraged by his country's superb 2010 campaign.

"Our luck just ran out," Borromeo told www.affsuzukicup.com. "We had our chances from some set pieces but we got a bit unlucky and Indonesia deserved to go through.

"I'm very much honoured to be captain of this team. Finally, we have the right balance. Even with all the local and foreign guys, everyone creates a good mixture and that's what got us this far."

Borromeo, who made his international bow aged 21 in 2004, has heralded the appointment of Englishman Simon McMenemy, who took over the coaching reins just four months before the AF Suzuki Cup.

"He brought a new approach," said the Philippines skipper, 27. "Right from day one, he said he wanted the guys to be together all the time so that we could get proper cohesiveness in the team. That was really important because we communicate well on the pitch and that's one of our strengths.

"We would definitely like him to stay on. He got us this far and we don't really want to change anything apart from maybe adding a bit more firepower up front to help us get a few more goals. Hopefully the team stays intact for the next few years.

"I just hope we can keep up the momentum after this. We've got a few challenges coming up after this - the AFC Challenge Cup followed by the first round of the World Cup qualifiers - which we'll be participating in for the first time in eight years. We'll definitely have some things to aim for in the New Year."

The Philippines qualified for the last four of the competition for the first time ever in their long history.