Azkals hold Thailand to 1-1 draw in Suzuki Cup match

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE Philippine men’s national football team’s steady form in the ongoing 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup continued on Wednesday night as it held defending champion Thailand to a 1-1 draw in their battle of unbeaten teams in Group B of the tournament at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City.
Found themselves behind early in the second half, the Philippine Azkals dug deep and stayed resilient and were accordingly rewarded when substitute Joven Bedic connected late in the match to level the count and hold such the rest of the way to force the draw, and for the two teams to share the spoils with a point each while also holding a share of group leadership heading into the final matches on Nov. 25 .
The Azkals had their chances in the opening half but could not complete them.
In the second half, the visiting War Elephants beat the Azkals to the draw and broke the nil-nil tie in the 56th minute care of Supachai Jaded.
The hosts scrambled to get the point back after.
In the 78th minute, Joven Bedic came in to replace Stephan Palla, a move that would pay dividends for the Sven-Goran Eriksson-coached Azkals as Mr. Bedic scored the equalizer three minutes later as he right-footed a shot from outside the box to find the bottom of the net.
The two teams tried to still go for the victory for the remainder of the contest but no goals were to come en route to the draw.
“I think we played well the whole 90 minutes and for me we were the better team for we created more opportunities. One-one is okay. We could have won it but I’m very happy of the performance of the team. I think they did well against a very good team,” said Mr. Eriksson after the game.
“If we play like this I think we can qualify for the semifinals and that is good for the future,” he added.
The draw pushed both Thailand and the Philippines to seven points after three matches, a point up from the third-running Singapore.
In the Suzuki Cup, the top two teams from each group at the end of the classification round advance to the crossover semifinals.
The Philippines faces off with already-eliminated Indonesia on Sunday while Thailand battles Singapore.