The Philippine Azkals ended their 2-game international friendly in a 1-nil defeat against the European team, Azerbaijan. The Azkals fought hard against a more stable and higher ranked European team. The first international game of the Azkals for 2014 was against Malaysia wherein the game ended with a nil-nil draw.
Philippine Azkals vs. Azerbaijan (Photo: Eugene Santos Protography FB Page)
The Philippines vs. Azerbaijan match held in Dubai was well attended by fans and followers of the Azkals and the Middle-eastern football fans. The game was held at the Al-Shabab Stadium in Dubai on early Thursday morning (Philippine Time).
The 93rd rank Azerbaijan scored the first goal of the match at around 26th minutes of the first half, the Azkals tried to equalized with numerous attempts but failed to score at least a goal to tie the game against the European powerhouse team.
The newly-acquired coach of the Philippine Azkals, former US National Team captain Thomas Dooley tried to regroup his team with the leadership of foreign-based players such as Stephan Schrock, Javier Patiño, and Jerry Lucena but their effort was not enough.
The 127th ranked Philippine team missed the services of their top European goalkeepers Neil Etheridge and Roland Muller, leaving the young but promising Filipino goalkeeper Partrick Deyto who successfully defended the Philippines goal during their Malaysian stint last week.
The Azkals used their size disadvantage with precise play on the midfield creating shorter p(–foul word(s) removed–) that led to goal opportunities. The Philippines attacked in the second half with Phil Younghusband and Stephan Schrock making good attempts at the 54th and 58th minutes of the game but failed to score a goal.
Former AFC Challenge Cup Golden Boot awardee, Phil Younghusband also tried to make a shot off a free kick at around 63rd minutes, but his attempt went over the bar. Stephan Schrock had last chance to force the equalizer after finding himself inside the box but his p(–foul word(s) removed–) to a teammate inside the box went too strong.
The Philippine Azkals’ two international FIFA matches is part of the country’s preparation for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup in Maldives this coming May 2014. The winner will earn a ticket to the prestigious Asian Cup in 2015 which will be hosted by Australia.
