The last minute score of Myanmar put the entire Philippine Azkals frozen on the sunny Myanmar stadium as the crowd cheers in jubilation. Myanmar have scored and snatch the win against the Philippine Azkals for the draw scoring 1-1.
A goal in the 90th minute was a sorry loss for the visiting Azkals. A foul by Simon Greatwich have sent midfielder Khin Maung Lwin for a penalty. He was awarded with a free kick, just on top of the penalty box and the unexpected happened his kick found an opening underneath the wall straight to the goal.
Goalie Neil Etheridge could not believe of what he saw he was unable to protect the goal, he was stunned in awe with his failure to protect the lead enjoyed by the Philippines. The scored brought about by James Younghusband in the 96th minute during a penalty kick was a breather for the Filipinos for it will be counted as 3 points.
The Philippine Azkals was dominated by the Burmese team during the second half and thanks to the courage and determination of the Fulham based goalie Neil Etheridge they were unable to score an easy goal during the first half.
The Myanmar White Angels were able to unleashed goal winning attacked with six chances but all were defended mightily be Etheridge. During the 8th minute off the corner kicks from the right side was spoiled. During the 9 minutes a 2-1 situation but the kick was just soft enough for the Azkals goalie.
At 9th minute another attempt by Myanmar that goes 1 foot over the crossbar and in the 17th minute, a header from the six yard was just fall right into the hands of Etheridge. The valiant defense of Etheridge during the first half was proven to be effective for the Azkals were unable to find the right combination of attacking the home team.
During the first half both teams were scoreless and the home crowd of more than 30,000 spectators were disappointed with their teams performance. The crowd only goes wild during the final final of the game after the equalizer have been scored.
The draw between the Philippines and Myanmar will give both teams a score of one point. The Azkals will now face the toughest challenge of this year’s competition. They will be playing against Palestine tomorrow March 23 at 5 P.M. Philippine time. It will be a must win for the Azkals to qualify for the next year’s last 8 stage tournament.