The Azkals came out in the second half looking determined to score an equalizer and get past Australia's defense. It turned out that the Aussies defense was too compact for the Azkals to get through. Although, the Philippines really had a nice and strong defense with Juan Luis Guirado and Ray Jonsson managing the back and Neil Etheridge as our goalkeeper.
It turns out that the sensational brothers, James and Phil were not available for last night's match. The Younghusbands flew back to Manila two days before the match, due to club loyalty. James, the stand-in captain for the Azkals, since Aly Borromeo and Chieffy Caligdong is both injured, was replaced by Ray Jonsson, who wore the captain's armband in the game.
To be honest, I thought the Australian team won ball possession. It was pretty clear that the Azkals were more on defense. Denise Wolf and Angel Guirado were the strikers of the game, since Phil wasn't there to help them. I was really dissapointed with how Angel played yesterday's game. He gave a lot of fouls which led to free kicks. Thank goodness Neil Etheridge was there to save us.
Nearing the end of the game, Misahg Bahadoran was replaced by Joshua Beloya. It has been a while since we've seen Beloya out in the field. If you don't remember him, well, he's the player who scored with the Azkals in the last SEA Games. Our savior really, for the Under-23 team at that time.
Good luck to the Azkals on their next match against Malaysia on Feb. 29 at 6 pm, televised by Studio 23 and Balls.
No comments:
Post a Comment