Philippine Daily Inquirer
Coach Michael Weiss is comfortable at the thought of his Philippine Azkals soaking up the pressure and waiting for their chance against a Singapore side expected to be on attack mode right from the get-go in the second leg of their AFF Suzuki Cup semifinals tomorrow.
The counter-attacking game has suited the Azkals for much of the tournament and, although he would have loved his side to be confident in possession, Weiss sees the Azkals relying on their solidity at the backline and their ability to create scoring chances in transition.
The Azkals and Lions fought to a goalless standoff Saturday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium, with the second leg to be played at the 8,000-seater Jalan Besar Stadium, which has an artificial pitch.
A scoring draw would be enough for the Azkals to advance due to the away goals rule, and Weiss said their chances only got better with the return of midfielder Jerry Lucena for the second leg.
“We will not risk much; the pitch in Jalan Besar is pretty tight,” Weiss said before the team left for Singapore yesterday morning.
“We have to be patient because we expect to see a more active Singapore on their (home) turf, which may not be the worst thing for us. Against this defense, it will not be easy for Singapore to score even on home soil.”
One player who has stood out defensively for Weiss in the last two matches is Fil-Spanish rightback Carli de Murga, who coped well with the threat posed by Aleksandar Duric on the left wing Saturday night.
“He has been fantastic for us,” said Weiss of the 24-year-old who was only called into action when Ray Jonsson sustained a quad muscle injury in the match against Vietnam.
“The defensive approach has worked for us, but sooner or later we would have to change our style by playing more possession.”
The depth of the side remains the least of Weiss’ worries with defender Jason Sabio and midfielder Chris Greatwich, who scored the late equalizer against the Lions in their group match in Vietnam two years ago, still to play.
Striker Denis Wolf has been used sparingly because of an ankle injury.
Meanwhile, tickets to the second leg are reportedly sold out with Singapore-based Filipinos complaining of the little allotment for Azkals fans for Wednesday’s match.
The Filipinos beat the Singaporeans, 2-0, in a friendly last Sept. 7 at Jurong West Stadium.
The only solution of the fans is the PFF can sponsor to put the big screen on the Rizal Stadium to encourage all kaholeros and fans to cheer our National team ...just to show the whole world that we are supporing the AZKALS ....if the Singaporian give our kababayan a limited tickets for Pilipinos who are base in Singapore soil.... PFF put the BIG SCREEN for free for all the fans to watch ...ASAP....ASAP....ASAP...
ReplyDeletedon't let your chin hang and don't lean in too much when u throw that straight right. the counterpunch might come from a right overhand punch and not an uppercut. either way, watch out, and don't be too careless or you are gonna walk into one. you catch my drift? lessons from history.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHA! Hindi naman boxing ito pero may katuwiran ang pilosopiya mo baka nga macounter yung counter HAHAHA. WAG MAG KUMPIYANSA!
DeleteWTF?
DeleteWe are in a good position. The pressure is on Singapore because they have to outscore us for this game. If we score then double pressure and possibly a more erratic Singapore squad will result. We just need to get a scoring draw the least and then we're through. Good luck team!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are right! We just have to pray that the Singaporeans don't score first. That will release the pressure from Singapore and will only put the Azkals in an unwanted catch-up situation... We gotta plan on scoring and plan on zipping the the singaporeans! All the best to Coach Weiss and all his players!
DeleteThose long balls are horrible to watch.
ReplyDeletetakes us back 20 years
Delete“We will not risk much; the pitch in Jalan Besar is pretty tight,”
ReplyDelete“We have to be patient because we expect to see a more active Singapore on their (home) turf, which may not be the worst thing for us. Against this defense, it will not be easy for Singapore to score even on home soil.”
Singapore has no reason to hurry for a goal. Their top priority now is NOT TO CONCEDE a critical away goal, and therefore i bet they will pretty much sit back and look for a counter chance. So we don't need to play too defensively. Just go for a first goal. If we score first, they have no choice other than all-out attack for 2 goals and it will give us plenty of counter chances and it can lead to 3-0 4-1 type of victory for us. What if Singapore scores first? A bad scenario, but It would be nowhere near a hopeless situation cause even if so, all we need to win is just one goal. Not really a big risk.
So, don't sit back. That's what Singapore has to do, and we should just play normally and try to own the midfield from the start.
i have a feeling we will win this one.
ReplyDelete