INQUIRER.net
Returning key players gave the Philippines a boost but it wasn’t enough as the
Azkals yielded to Kuwait, 1-2, in a Fifa international friendly late Tuesday
night (Manila time) in Kuwait.
Phil Younghusband, who was back in the
lineup after missing the Peace Cup and the Bahrain friendly, picked up where he
left off as he struck the Philippines lone goal off a penalty kick after a
handball called against Kuwait.
Fil-British Neil Etheridge kept the Azkals
in the game with a slew of fine saves in the first half including a double save
in the 27th minute.
Bader Al-Mutawa opened up the scoring for
Kuwait in the 35th minute off a powerful strike before Younghusband equalized in
the 60th minute.
Coming out sharp in the second half, the
Philippines got good looks but the quicker Kuwaitis held their ground.
Demitrius Omphroy had a shot on goal but
didn’t get a clear hit on the shot after Patrick Reichelt’s attempt went over.
Kuwait, ranked 112, struck again in the
70th minute after a questionable penalty called against Juani Guirado.
The Azkals, who are on a build-up for the
AFF Suzuki Cup, held Asian powerhouse Bahrain to a scoreless draw last Saturday
but just couldn’t slow down the relentless Kuwait side.
I like that we have good chances, but just a little short on the finishing. It will get better (I hope).
ReplyDeleteWere gettin' there boys. We scored and got some chances. The ref blew a crazy call...I watched football games on TV here in the Middle East...Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and Saudi football games and they are expert in simulations...and rarely the simulator gets booked. We were just victimized...the first penalty was a simple case were that player expected a contact...the second was an OSCAR's winner if your know what I mean. The guy evaded J. Guirado's foot but acted out that he was tripped. Classic middle eastern simmulation.
ReplyDeleteWell it happens and twice we got a bad call. If it were in our area or Europe, it would not have been called.