Source: PDI
RANGOON—The Philippine football team, drenched, and on an emotional high, runs around the pitch one final time.
Chieffy Caligdong, one of the acknowledged leaders of the squads, leads the cheer, “Pilipinaaas!” The entire squad follows with a roar, “Win-win-win!”
The chant reverberated inside the historic Aung San Stadium here, where the Azkals made history once more with a clinical 3-0 victory over Bangladesh Friday to clinch a place in the main tournament of the AFC Challenge Cup for the first time in the country’s history.
Angel Aldeguer Guirado, the tall Filipino-Spanish attacker who speaks little English but has fit superbly into the squad, scored two second-half goals, after Ian Araneta, the hardworking striker from Barotac Nuevo, ended his long scoring drought for the Azkals in the first.
Just as they promised, the Azkals played without letup for 90 minutes, defending doggedly and attacking fluidly to prevail in the do-or-die match.
“I feel so overwhelmed, we have made history again,” said skipper Aly Borromeo in the midst of the celebration.
Group’s No. 2 qualifier
With five points from three matches, the Azkals finished as the No. 2 qualifier from the group, behind Palestine, which wound up with seven points after beating Myanmar, 3-1, at the Thuwana Stadium.
Still, the feat was remarkable, considering that the Azkals finally crashed the elite eight for the first time since they started joining the tournament five years ago.
The Azkals now join 2008 champion India, Maldives, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan which earlier booked their places in the main tournament next year for Asia’s emerging football countries.
“We have to give credit to the players for playing the way we should have been playing the past two games,” said team manager Dan Palami. “We could see how they were pressing from the opening up to the final whistle. And the prayers back home helped a lot.”
Palami announced that the players and coaching staff, including Edwin Cabalida, Edzel Bracamonte and Roroy Pinero, will receive a $1,500 bonus from the Philippine Football Federation and other private sponsors.
42nd-minute breakthrough
The breakthrough came in the 42nd minute when Araneta rediscovered his scoring touch after going 11 matches without a goal.
Yanti Barsales, making his first start for the team since the Interport Cup in Taiwan last year as Weiss opted for an attack-minded side, started the move by beating his marker to the ball on the right flank.
Barsales fed Guirado at the edge of the area and the striker found space to shoot.
Guirado’s shot was blocked, but the deflection fell kindly on Araneta, who kept his composure to slot home with his left for his ninth international goal and first since scoring a hat-trick against Timor Leste in the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying in Laos last year.
“We always knew that Ian had it in him,” Palami said. “We always knew even when he was in a slump he would recover one of these days and it was great that it was in this match.”
Guirado doubled the lead in the 54th minute with a header from close range after a flick-on from Araneta, who was first to get a touch on an inswinging corner from James Younghusband.
As Bangladesh’s defenders grew weary, the Azkals put the outcome beyond doubt in the 80th, when Guirado’s right-footed effort found the bottom corner for the Azkals’ third goal.
“I feel very very contented for the two goals for the Philippines and making it to the next round,” Guirado told the Inquirer, through his cousin, Rafa Garcia. The whole team just helped each other.”
The Azkals probed with little reward early on as Caligdong and Ray Jonsson worked double time on the left flank to send in dangerous crosses that hardly scuttled the Bangladesh defense.
The Azkals, however, yielded the first clear chance to Bangladesh in the 12th minute when the striker Zahid forced a diving save from Neil Etheridge in a one-on-one situation.
The Azkals’ urgency increased visibly after the defensive lapse, and Caligdong and Guirado had chances saved.
The Azkals’ starting lineup changed for the third straight game with Rob Gier skipping the match after flying back to England. Weiss sent in Barsales for Simon Greatwich to add attacking teeth.
Jason Sabio was also inserted into the starting lineup in his first appearance since the 1-2 defeat to Mongolia, where he gave up the foul that led to a the game-winning goal.
But Sabio made amends in this game with a solid performance that included several clearances as Bangladesh threatened to break on the counterattack.
The backline had a near-perfect performance with Anton del Rosario also covering efficiently at the right while getting into dangerous areas.
Filipino-Danish midfielder Jerry Lucena was a rock at midfield, tackling effectively and distributing the ball precisely to set off attacks.
“We proved it right here that with the composure of the new players and the combination of the local guys that when we put our heart into it, we can’t lose,” said Borromeo.
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RANGOON—The Philippine football team, drenched, and on an emotional high, runs around the pitch one final time.
Chieffy Caligdong, one of the acknowledged leaders of the squads, leads the cheer, “Pilipinaaas!” The entire squad follows with a roar, “Win-win-win!”
The chant reverberated inside the historic Aung San Stadium here, where the Azkals made history once more with a clinical 3-0 victory over Bangladesh Friday to clinch a place in the main tournament of the AFC Challenge Cup for the first time in the country’s history.
Angel Aldeguer Guirado, the tall Filipino-Spanish attacker who speaks little English but has fit superbly into the squad, scored two second-half goals, after Ian Araneta, the hardworking striker from Barotac Nuevo, ended his long scoring drought for the Azkals in the first.
Just as they promised, the Azkals played without letup for 90 minutes, defending doggedly and attacking fluidly to prevail in the do-or-die match.
“I feel so overwhelmed, we have made history again,” said skipper Aly Borromeo in the midst of the celebration.
Group’s No. 2 qualifier
With five points from three matches, the Azkals finished as the No. 2 qualifier from the group, behind Palestine, which wound up with seven points after beating Myanmar, 3-1, at the Thuwana Stadium.
Still, the feat was remarkable, considering that the Azkals finally crashed the elite eight for the first time since they started joining the tournament five years ago.
The Azkals now join 2008 champion India, Maldives, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan which earlier booked their places in the main tournament next year for Asia’s emerging football countries.
“We have to give credit to the players for playing the way we should have been playing the past two games,” said team manager Dan Palami. “We could see how they were pressing from the opening up to the final whistle. And the prayers back home helped a lot.”
Palami announced that the players and coaching staff, including Edwin Cabalida, Edzel Bracamonte and Roroy Pinero, will receive a $1,500 bonus from the Philippine Football Federation and other private sponsors.
42nd-minute breakthrough
The breakthrough came in the 42nd minute when Araneta rediscovered his scoring touch after going 11 matches without a goal.
Yanti Barsales, making his first start for the team since the Interport Cup in Taiwan last year as Weiss opted for an attack-minded side, started the move by beating his marker to the ball on the right flank.
Barsales fed Guirado at the edge of the area and the striker found space to shoot.
Guirado’s shot was blocked, but the deflection fell kindly on Araneta, who kept his composure to slot home with his left for his ninth international goal and first since scoring a hat-trick against Timor Leste in the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying in Laos last year.
“We always knew that Ian had it in him,” Palami said. “We always knew even when he was in a slump he would recover one of these days and it was great that it was in this match.”
Guirado doubled the lead in the 54th minute with a header from close range after a flick-on from Araneta, who was first to get a touch on an inswinging corner from James Younghusband.
As Bangladesh’s defenders grew weary, the Azkals put the outcome beyond doubt in the 80th, when Guirado’s right-footed effort found the bottom corner for the Azkals’ third goal.
“I feel very very contented for the two goals for the Philippines and making it to the next round,” Guirado told the Inquirer, through his cousin, Rafa Garcia. The whole team just helped each other.”
The Azkals probed with little reward early on as Caligdong and Ray Jonsson worked double time on the left flank to send in dangerous crosses that hardly scuttled the Bangladesh defense.
The Azkals, however, yielded the first clear chance to Bangladesh in the 12th minute when the striker Zahid forced a diving save from Neil Etheridge in a one-on-one situation.
The Azkals’ urgency increased visibly after the defensive lapse, and Caligdong and Guirado had chances saved.
The Azkals’ starting lineup changed for the third straight game with Rob Gier skipping the match after flying back to England. Weiss sent in Barsales for Simon Greatwich to add attacking teeth.
Jason Sabio was also inserted into the starting lineup in his first appearance since the 1-2 defeat to Mongolia, where he gave up the foul that led to a the game-winning goal.
But Sabio made amends in this game with a solid performance that included several clearances as Bangladesh threatened to break on the counterattack.
The backline had a near-perfect performance with Anton del Rosario also covering efficiently at the right while getting into dangerous areas.
Filipino-Danish midfielder Jerry Lucena was a rock at midfield, tackling effectively and distributing the ball precisely to set off attacks.
“We proved it right here that with the composure of the new players and the combination of the local guys that when we put our heart into it, we can’t lose,” said Borromeo.
