ITS international friendly match against Fiji on Thursday saw it not at its best but the Philippine national men’s football team still viewed it as a good outing as it gears up for a bigger battle ahead.
Played at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, the Philippine Azkals had to dig deep as the visiting side made a late second-half charge and survive with a 3-2 win.
The match was a tune-up for the nationals for their big game tomorrow, March 27, against Tajikistan, where a win or a draw gives the Azkals a spot in the AFC Asian Cup, its first-ever if it succeeds.
“It was not pretty but it was a good training session for us. We tried out some new things and the players dealt with some things which they could deal with in our next game against Tajikistan. Hopefully we get to learn from this game and be able to make the adjustments,” said Azkals’ American coach Thomas Dooley in the post-match press conference on Thursday night.
“Our transition game from offense to defense was not fluid in this game. And it also showed that we have to play up to the last minute and not leave anything to chance. We saw where our players are at this point and we will continue to work,” he added.
Captain Phil Younghusband put Philippines first on the board against Fiji after converting a penalty in the 29th minute.
Pika Minegishi then made it a 2-0 affair for the Azkals when he connected a low shot from outside the box in the 53rd.
Eight minutes later, Kevin Ingreso joined the scoring parade, making it 3-nil after scoring off a deflection.
But Fiji was not to go down sans a fight, and slowly tried to claw its way back.
Ame Votoniu gave his team its first point in the 74th minute after Azkals keeper Nick O’Donnell failed to clear the ball before Roy Krishna added another by way of penalty kick in the 80th minute.
The Azkals’ defense though would not allow anymore goals from the visitors thereafter en route to holding on for the win.
The Philippines currently leads Group F of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers with a record of two victories and three draws for nine points, two points clear of Yemen (1-4-0) and Tajikistan (2-1-2) which each has seven points.
Nepal (0-2-3), the other Group F team, is already eliminated in the race with only two points to show for.
The Azkals need to notch a win or a draw against Tajikistan to move on to the next round.
As per tournament format, the top two teams in each of the six groups in the third round of qualification advance to the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2019, joining 12 other teams which have already qualified previously. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
