PHILIPPINE AZKALS SCORE EXCITING 4-3 WIN FOR 3RD PLACE IN THE AFC CHALLENGE CUP
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 19 Mar 2012
The Philippine Azkals responded to the challenge of coach Michael Weiss to play for ?Pride and Glory? in their third place match against ?The Knights? of Palestine and came through with a win to give the country its best finish ever in the AFC Challenge Cup at the Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal Monday.
Two goals by prolific striker Phil Younghusband including a penalty in the 22nd minute and a 41st minute goal by Angel Guirado who took control of an exquisite through ball to slot it home past the Palestine goalkeeper gave the Philippine Azkals a 3-1 lead at halftime after Palestine equaled in the 20th minute following some excellent, short, snappy passing moves that exposed the tentative Philippine defense as Abdulhamid Abuhabib curled one past keeper Eduar Sacapano who was playing in place of Neil Etheridge who was sidelined because of a straight red card in the semi final against Turkmenistan.
The Azkals made their intentions known shortly after the kickoff before a good crowd when Ray Jonnson fired one past the left upright with only 1:40 gone on the clock.
Phil Younghusband?s first goal and his 23rd since wearing an Azkals jersey was a classic as a deft pass from Guirado to team captain Chieffy Calidong saw Phil take on three Palestinian defenders with some of his magic before scoring with his left foot.
In the 15th minute Paul Mulders who occasionally sliced through the defense of the Palestinians forced goalie Ramsey Saleh who had a tryout with the English second division side Sheffield Wednesday to make a sensational save.
The young Palestinian side kept attacking in waves as the Philippine defense fell back giving them plenty of room to work in and a sizzling attempt hit the crossbar in the 19th minute after back-to-back attempts on goal by the Palestinians.
The Palestinians efforts were finally rewarded just over one minute later when No. 19 Abdul Hamid Al Habib beat Eduard Sacapano all ends up to tie the count at 1-1.
Chieffy Calidong was brought down in the box in the 22nd minute and Phil Younghusband blasted the penalty into the net to restore the Philippines one goal edge at 2-1 and enhance his own chances for the ?Golden Boot? of the tournament with the most number of goals scored.
Angel Guirado, who proved to be a workhorse galloped past a couple of defenders after taking control of a through ball to rip one in past the Palestinian goalkeeper to give the Azkals some breathing space at 3-1.
But the Palestinians who played attractive attacking football were once again gifted by poor marking by the Azkals defense and Abdulhabib with a good finish stepped up the excruciating pressure on the Azkals with a 3-2 scoreline.
Juan Guirado made a tremendous run from midfield and with a left footed shot gave the Philippines another breather at 4-2 in scoring his first goal since donning an Azkals jersey in international competition.
The Palestinians stepped up the pressure driving forward relentlessly and were once again rewarded in the 77th minute when Fahed Attal beat Sacapano who dived to his left but couldn?t get his hands on the ball which sailed high into the corner of the net to send the hearts of Philippine fans pounding anxiously with the score at 4-3.
A Palestine corner four minutes later saw Sacapano make the most crucial save possibly of his career when he denied Abdel Hamid and with three minutes added time the Azkals g oal was besieged but some desperate defending held on and when the final whistle blew the Philippines had achieved its most noteworthy performance in decades in an enthralling game of football between the two beaten semi finalists.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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