The Philippine Azkals rued a couple of missed easy first half chances against Vietnam in a game the Filipinos had to win but a perfect pass by towering Angel Guirado who came on in the second half to another substitute Chieffy Caligdong who blasted a left-footed kick to leave the Vietnamese goalkeeper beaten all ends up in the 85th minute put the Philippines on the brink of qualification for the semi final round of the AFF Suzuki Cup in Bangkok.
The Philippines repeated their ouster of Vietnam in 2010 when they stunned the home side 2-0 to qualify for the semi finals where they lost to Indonesia in both matches which were played in Jakarta by margins of a single goal.
It was a scrappy match until coach Michael Weiss who was seated in the stands after being banished in their game against Thailand for throwing the ball at a Thai player who was on the ground, rang the right changes pulling out the Younghusband brothers Phil and James who were nowhere near their best and sending in Guirado and Dennis Wolf and later Caligdong.
Weiss had challenged the Azkals to be warriors in a must-win game and they dutifully obliged often breaking up Vietnam’s attacking moves by clogging the box and tackling resolutely with skipper Rob Gier and Jason De Jong along with Juani Guirado defending solidly.
Weiss told the Suzuki Cup website after the game “My team fought like lions and warriors and withstood the power attacks of Vietnam. You can not give Vietnam even a meter’s space - they would exploit it sooner or later.”
The German coach admitted that he had “to employ an excessive defensive style with counter attacks which just came into full swing with the changes we made with fresh players coming on.”
He commended the three substitutes and said “Angel Guirado, Emelio Caligdong and Denis Wolf changed the match but that would not have been possible without the great defensive display.”
An elated coach praised his players for what he termed “a fantastic performance and we are back in the race. We now play a strong Philippines side and hopefully we can reach the semi-finals.”
To ensure a semi finals slot the Philippines must beat Myanmar who later on lost to Thailand 4-0 giving the Thais the first spot in the semis with 6 points while the Philippines were in second with 3 points.
The Azkals cannot afford to take Myanmar lightly because although Thailand was clearly the superior team, they played well and could be dangerous especially if the Thais consider the Philippines a bigger threat and rest their key players and allow Vietnam to score an unlikely victory which would put them on 4 points, one ahead of the Philippines unless the Azkals beat Myanmar.
Vietnam coach Phan Thanh Hung said that his players froze and made too many mistakes. He told the official Suzuki Cup website “Our team today played the worst match since I became head coach.”
He claimed that “when the match started so many players frooze and made wrong passes. And the goal it came from a wrong pass from one player.” He added that “it was difficult to pierce the packed Philippines defense. We could not create any good chances or do anything that could turn the game.”
He magnanimously accepted responsibility for the loss.
The Philippines made two changes from the side that lost 2-1 to Thailand as Jason De Jong replaced skipper Caligdong while Patrick Reichelt, playing with several broken teeth after a training ground injury, came in for Angel Guirado.
The website report said the opening exchanges were fairly even although Vietnam had an early chance with a close-range shot from Le Tan Tai, but ‘keeper Eduard Sacapono saved comfortably.
Both sides were struggling to find their rhythm but Vietnam’s Pham Thanh Luong displayed some nice touches with his cultured left foot.
Vietnam’s Huynh Quoc Anh beat the offside trap in the 23rd minute but his shot went straight at the keeper.
Philip Younghusband battled hard up front for the Philippines and he had his team’s first chance in the 23rd minute but his shot was comfortably saved by Duong Hong Son.
For his efforts Younghusband also received a yellow card for simulation after going to ground too easily.
Pham Thanh Luong remained Vietnam’s livewire and in the 30th minute he came close with a shot from just outside the area which sped past the right post.
At the other end Philip Younghusband continued to work hard but could only muster a couple of half-chances.
Paul Mulders, who scored against Thailand in the opening match, came closest for the Philippines when his cross-cum shot in the 42nd minute was tipped over the bar by Hong Son.
That was the last of any serious goalmouth action in a largely forgettable first half.
Vietnam began to slowly build up the pressure and in the 58th minute Le Tan Tai fired in a good effort from outside the area but unfortunately it was straight at the keeper.
Despite dominating possession Vietnam were not creating any real chances and slowly allowed the Philippines back into the game.
In the 66th minute Wolf came on for Philip Younghusband and almost immediately the Philippines attack appeared more threatening.
Also adding some venom to the Philippines front line was substitute Guirado. Playing out on the right he caused all sorts of problems for the Vietnam defense which was showing signs of tiring.
In the 81st minute Guirado went on a great run, cutting in from the right, and after forcing his way into the area was unlucky to see his goal-bound shot hit a Vietnam defender on the ground.
But four minutes later it was a different story. Out on the right Guirado spotted Caligdong in space on the left. His pin-point cross was beautifully controlled by Caligdong who turned and blasted the ball home with his left foot.
Vietnam were not going down without a fight, however, and within a minute Le Tan Tai blasted the ball goalkeeper Ed Sacapano almost miraculously tapped the ball against the crossbar and the Philippines cleared quickly.
That was to be Vietnam’s last real chance and the Philippines hung on for a precious victory, prompting understandable celebrations at the final whistle.
via Ronnie Nathanielsz, Philboxing.com
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