The Philippine Azkals first game in the AFC Challenge Cup against Afghanistan ended in a goalless draw (0-0), in a football match that was held at the Hithadhoo Stadium in Addu City, in Maldives. The game was also delayed at least one hour because of the bad weather situation in the paradise island nation located in the Indian Ocean.
Watch the Highlights Video of Azkals vs. Afghanistan:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdPldxltgck
The Philippine national football team, Azkals started a bit slow in the first half of the match as the team struggled to keep up with the Afghans who controlled most of the possession right after the kick-off.
The Azkals was able to keep up against the highest-ranked team in AFC, Afghanistan midway in the first half as the team coached by Thomas Dooley made an adjustments on the midfield and challenge the Afghans higher up the pitch.
At around 30th minutes of the game, Fil-German Stephan Schrock tried a 40-yards lob and Patrick Reichelt’s attacked in the 38th minutes but all failed to score a goal for the Azkals.
The Afghans had also their share of scare in the 35th minutes when the Azkals opponent crowded the box and got close to the goal but veteran goalkeeper Neil Etheridge was quick to quell the attack and collected the ball saving the day for the Azkals.
Aside from the 35th minutes scare of Afghanistan, the Afghans got dangerously close to the goal at around 70th minutes but Jerry Lucena provided the defense and subdued the Afghans attack.
The most exciting part of the game was during the 76th minutes when the Azkals made at least three (3) attempts in a single minute. Schrock made a cross near the box but half-cleared by the Afgans, the Azkals recovered through the effort of Daisuke Sato and attempted a long shot but was cleared again. Fellow Azkals Ruben Doctora sent a cross to Stephan Schrock, however, the Fil-German missed the ball and failed to produce the header.
The match ended with goalless draw, the Azkals had 12 attempts at goal, with seven (7) on target and won a total of six (6) corners. The Afghanistan side on their part had seven (7) attempts at goal with only three (3) on target and got a total of two (2) corners.
The Philippine Azkals will next battle against Laos tomorrow, Thursday, May 22, 2014. The match will be aired on ABS-CBN Sports+ Action starting on 6:30 PM (PST). The Azkals opponent also Laos was defeated earlier by Turkemistan with the final score at 5-1 in favor of Turkmenistan.
Photo Credit: Kenshiro Daniels Twitter Account