THE Philippines took an early lead after defender Martin Merino scored in the seventh minute.Thailand, however, scored the equalizer seven minutes later with a goal by Thanakrit Laorkai.Cebuano Kamir Amirul put the Philippines up ahead again with a 28th-minute goal.Thailand refused to lose and equalized in the 49th minute with a goal by Phuwanet Thongkhui.Substitute Peeranan Buakai scored the timely match-clinching goal in the 89th minute.On the other hand, Afghanistan bounced back from its opening match loss and beat host Oman, 1-0, in the other Group G match.Omid Rajabi scored the match’s lone goal in the 28th minute to save Afghanistan’s chances of advancing to the next round.Thailand holds the top spot of Group G with six points and needs at least a draw to secure a spot in the knockout stage.Oman is in second place with three points and is up ahead only on goal difference over third-ranked Afghanistan, which also has three points. The Philippines is at the bottom with no points.The Philippines needs a one-sided win over Afghanistan in its next match if it wants to take the second spot. It also needs Thailand to beat Oman with a lopsided margin.