By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Bienvenido Marañon just showed everyone why he was deserving of getting that Filipino naturalization.
Facing a tough Myanmar team in their last game of the AFF Suzuki Cup, the star striker put the team on his back and scored all of the Philippine Azkals’ goals to become the first Filipino to clinch a hat-trick performance in the prestigious tournament.
Marañon’s historic game was made sweeter by getting the victory against Myanmar, 3-2, to end their AFF Suzuki Cup campaign on a high note despite getting eliminated from playoff contention.
Myanmar was also seeking to salvage a win against Azkals with hopes of increasing their acquired points but had to deal with Marañon’s scoring outburst for 90 grueling minutes.
United City-FC’s main gunner was quick to open the scoring column at the 16th minute-mark after converting off a calculated cross pass from Iain Ramsay.
The onslaught didn’t stop as Marañon found the back of the net once again three minutes after his first goal when he converted on another cross pass from Iain Ramsay.
Marañon then cemented his name in the history books before the whistle was blown in the first half when he cashed in a header from a Martin Steuble pass.
The Azkals failed to score a single goal in the second half as Myanmar tweaked their defense while also surviving two late goals from the opposition at the 74th and 86th minute.
“I thought first half we were excellent. Second half, they came back at us. We could have managed the game better than that. That’s something to learn from,” said Azkals head coach Stewart Hall.
