Azkals unfazed by wintry conditions in Ulan Bator

By Cedelf P. Tupas
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino striker Phil Younghusband remains convinced that the abject wintry conditions in Ulan Bator will not pose much of a problem for the Philippines in the second leg of its AFC Challenge Cup qualifying duel with Mongolia this month.

The 23-year-old striker believes he has played in even worse conditions while seeing action for Chelsea in the Reserve League in England.

“I just think that as long as you’re running around the pitch, that won’t be a problem,” Younghusband, who scored one goal in the 2-0 win over Mongolia in the first leg in Bacolod City, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“On that day, I would rather be playing on the pitch than just watching the game [from] the stands.”

Younghusband said he was disappointed at the way Mongolia played the first leg, where the visitors opted to just sit back and defend.

“I expected them to be better,” said Younghusband. “At least they should have shown some composure on the ball.”

Younghusband added: “I don’t think I can be called complacent that even without Neil (Etheridge) and Rob (Gier) we can get a result in Mongolia.”

The scorer of 13 international goals for the Philippines believes the Azkals can come away with at least a 4-nil victory in Mongolia and move into the group qualifying in Yangon, Myanmar.

Temperatures in Ulan Bator were recorded at -13 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. The second match on March 15 is set at 1 p.m., which is already considered the hottest time of the day in the Mongolian capital.

inquirer.net