Draw snatched from the jaws of victory (and vice versa)
by rick olivares
After the Philippine Men’s Football National Team was booted
from the Asian Qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, I was reading the comments on
an online forum where an anonymous poster ragged a fan who said that after a
few more years of seasoning, the Azkals could qualify for the sport’s biggest
spectacle.
“Win first in your area,” the pundit chided.
The Long Teng Cup may not be high on most footballing nations’
participation list but it’s a tournament we’ve joined and it’s a tournament we
can try to win.
I am not wholly disappointed in the 3-3 fulltime result in the
Philippines’ opener with defending champion Hong Kong.
Here’s why…
1. This team is not the team that played in last year’s Long Teng
Cup, Suzuki Cup, or even this year’s World Cup Qualifiers. The roster for the
2011 Long Teng Cup is a mixture of old and new and that means this team is
getting its feet wet in international competition.
Consider
the starting eleven: Roland Muller (GK); Oliver Poetschke, Roel Gener, Aly
Borromeo, and Matthew Hartmann (back four); James Younghusband, Carli Martinez
de Murga, Jason de Jong, and Chieffy Caligdong (midfield), and Angel Guirado
and Phil Younghusband (forward). There are three new players on the team in
Muller, Poetschke, and Martinez de Murga. Any time you have that many new
players in the mix you can be sure that their play could be far from smooth.
It is clear from the Azkals’ recent matches that the
international experience has really helped. We are no longer easy or willing
victims. The nationals go out and compete and have posted some incredible wins
along the way.
2.
The team
came back from a 2-nil deficit to equalize and later put themselves in a prime
position to beat Hong Kong; a country ranked 10 notches higher by FIFA than us
(#155 to #165).
A match like this bodes well for their confidence
since they know they can come back from a deficit.
Now the team has to figure out a way of staying away
from falling into these holes. Overhauling a deficit can be taxing and is kind
of difficult to achieve.
3.
Caligdong is
Super Chief!
There
were some quarters in the team who thought that Chieffy Caligdong was done
after last year’s Suzuki Cup. But the fact of the matter was the Air Force
winger was battling injuries.
Spurred
by a footballing renaissance in the country and the challenges of newcomers
trying to displace him, Caligdong has elevated his game and has scored many
important and memorable goals. Even his foes in the UFL have noted how his game
has grown and how he has become a better player.
He’s
dangerous in and around the box and those two exquisite finishes against Hong
Kong are world-class. Standing a mere 5’5”, the Chief is testament to the
country’s stout fighting heart.
Now I’d be damning the team with
superfluous praise if I said that there were things I do not like.
Here’s why…
1.
Up to now we
still do not own that ball.
The 4-4-1-1 formation was correct as it sought to mask the
rawness of some players with its flexibility to switch from offense to defense.
That formation as well as better team discipline saw far fewer instances of
long ball play as the team opted for the more precise short passing game.
However, that did not materialize in the first half as Hong Kong
dominated possession. Come the second half, the spacing was better and the
attacks improved. When we lost possession, we fought back to regain them.
As it was, all three Philippine goals were on solo sorties.
2.
We still do not
defend set pieces very well.
In the 87th minute, a set piece from just
outside the box managed to stay clear of the five-man wall to go straight to
the Philippine goal. Goal keeper Roland Muller parried away the shot. Unlike an
earlier Hong Kong volley that he successfully blocked and corralled the loose
ball before a red shirt poacher could get to it, this time he could not.
Hong Kong’s best player, attacking midfielder Au
Yeung Yiu Chung got to the loose ball and scored the equalizer to rob the
Philippines of the available three points.
To begin with, there was something wrong with the
defensive alignment for the set piece.
In a previous HK free kick, they lined up a red shirt
on the extreme right side of the wall. The intention of such placing is to that
man in a position to make a quick turn once the shot is taken in order to go
after a possible rebound or even a chip.
HK coach Liu Chun Fai gave us a variation of that
play the team was unable to read. There were some red shirts lurking outside
the box but they placed two men inside the penalty area. Although marked by two
Azkals defenders, the HK players made sure there was a gap where their teammate
taking the free kick can send the ball inside.
It was a well-taken shot and a well-executed play.
Muller blocked it but there were two Hong Kong
players in a fantastic position to claim the rebound for a potential score.
Perhaps the more painful truth is that for the second
consecutive game (the previous one being against Kuwait), we conceded a goal to
a team that was playing with only 10 men.
It was Mongolia in the AFC Challenge Cup all over
again (the Blue Wolves home game where they scored on a rebound off a free
kick).
During that match, Blue Wolves midfielder Garidmagnai
Bayasgalan followed up his botched spot kick (that Azkals’ keeper Eduard
Sacapaño saved but was unable to control) by racing inside before the
Philippine defenders could for a goal.
3.
We once more
gave up unnecessary yellow cards.
Jason de Jong what were you thinking of? Two yellow
cards and sent off for dissent. That temper of yours will cause you to miss not
only the next game maybe even the next one.
We didn’t get a win but neither did
Hong Kong (who dealt us a 4-2 loss last year). We got a point that is just as
important. Am I worried that we are a man down for the match against the home
team (Chinese Taipei)? Nope. We have players who will pick up the slack. But if
we want to bring home the Cup, then it is imperative that we get a win and
score a bunch of goals.
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