06 March 2014

Azerbaijan edges Azkals in FIFA Friendly, 1-nil

Myke Miravite

MANILA, Philippines – The new-look Philippine National Men’s Football Team put up a gallant stand against 93rd-ranked Azerbaijan but gave up a 26th minute goal as they went down 0-1 in a FIFA Friendly match Wednesday night, March 5 at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Rufat Dadashov – who plays for German club Kaiserslautern II – headed in Vagif Javadov’s corner in the 26th minute to deny Thomas Dooley his first win with the Azkals so far, four days after the Philippines held Malaysia to a scoreless draw in Selayang.
But it was the Azkals who looked the better side tonight, firing seven attempts compared to Azerbaijan’s five, but they could just not find the net despite dominating the European side in the second half.
Originally left out of the Azkals lineup for this outing, Patrick Deyto once again started for the Philippines in front of the goal after Roland Muller’s last-minute backing out but the Green Archers United keeper put on another scintillating performance, keeping his side in the game save for that split-second moment when Azerbaijan scored the lone goal off the corner.
The Azkals’ European reinforcements also dazzled against Azerbaijan as Stephan Schrock and Javier Patino pestered the opposing side’s defense while Filipino-Danish Jerry Lucena did well in anchoring the Philippines’ midfield.
UFL stars Phil Younghusband, Jeffrey Christiaens, and second half substitute Patrick Reichelt put up a stellar showing for the Azkals too, sparking several runs that almost resulted into the equalizer.
The newly-signed Ceres midfielder Reichelt came close to pinching in a late equalizer as he headed in Schrock’s cross into the upper right corner of the goal but Kamran Agayev was there to punch the attempt away.
After a sluggish first half, the Azkals came out of the gates in the second half roaring, making good use of the ball but the Azerbaijanis’ backline – led by Rubin Kazan defender Ruslan Abishov – held them scoreless until the final whistle to win the first-ever match between the two sides.
Another blow for the Philippines came inside the final five minutes of regulation when Christiaens had to be stretchered out of the pitch after going down in a defensive play for the Azkals.
Despite the loss, it was a bright start for Dooley as he transformed the Azkals from a squad that relies on long-ball passing into a more efficient short-passing side approaching the all-important AFC Challenge Cup on May.
The Azkals will try to win it all in Maldives to get the outright ticket to Australia in 2015 for the prestigious AFC Asian Cup. -

Rappler.com

11 comments:

  1. Thumbs up to Thomas Dooley using "Bayern Munich" style of play for the Azkals. This is what the Filipinos are suited for. Good riddance for Coach Weiss may I say..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. generally di naman expected manalo ang azkals, pero expected ko na di sila magcoconcede ng 3 goals+ sa isang makunat na defensive team azerbaijan
      pero sobrang bilis nga ng improvements di mo maisip na kaya na nila mag 1-2 short pass at kung may long balls man medio mas accurate na
      sa loob lang ng 2 weeks training
      lagot yang afghanistan laos at turkmenistan sa mayo

      Delete
  2. meron bang video replay?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ngayon may replay sa abscbn sports action,

      Delete
  3. Good game but the cameraman was a bit off his. Inwas just like watching basketball!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Camera Crew were really bad.. They do not have to focus on the player with the ball , the whole freaking game.. They should pan out. there should be at least 6 or more players in one frame..

      For Goal Kicks, there should be a camera crew behind the keeper..

      Delete
    2. Thats abs cbns camera crew. They suck at football coverage.

      Delete
    3. corrction lang po, hindi po abs cbn ang crew na nagcover ng laro.

      Delete
  4. Sana ganito din ang system of play nila Anto Gonzales(U16) at Aey Fabroada(U14 at U12)- mga head coach ng mga Youth National Teams. Mahilig kasi ang mga ito sa mga malalaki na players at mga long balls na play..

    ReplyDelete
  5. galing 'ata sa feed ng Azerbaijan Network yung coverage ng laro ng Azkals?! ang nakakainis pa lalo yung mga commentator! BORINGGGGGG!!! parang d football match ang kino-cover?! puede ba ABS-CBN Sports+Action, ibigay nyo lang kila boom gonzales o tj manotoc + legit footballers like Rudy del Rosario or Aly Borromeo yung pag-cover ng Azkal Games! walang kalatoy-latoy!!! late na nga yung televise kagabi dahil sa time diffrential ng 'Pinas sa Dubai, sinabayan pa ng walang ka-kwenta kwentang commentators. C Darren Hartmann hinahayaan lang mg-comment ng kung anu-ano para may masabi lang sa football c Bob G.?! haaayyyy!!! ka-dismaya!!! hirap kc talaga kung d ka naman football palyer, d mo tuloy alam pinagsasabi mo by heart! dapat baligtad eh, c Darren Hartmann ang mgdala ng pg comment sa laro d c Bob G. Natawa aq, nag-comment c Bob G. ng "...good thing it has not been judged a foul, the ball was passed back to the goalie (deyto)" eh obvious naman na d pasa, na mis kick ata ni christaens o juani?! puede ba, wag naman ipilit kung trying hard! kc nag-mumukha lang tanga?! remember! marami ng nanonood sa Azkals Game na talagang nakakaintindi na ng (basic) football. Yun tuloy, kada coverage EPIC FAIL ang coverage. Pati Pre-game at Post-Game sablay rin!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha galit na galit. Pero di ka nakinig na si schrock yung namiskick ung clearance at nacorrect naman na di backpass yun.

      Makuntento ka nlng sa kung anong meron. Atleast Bob G. dedicate himself by watching all ufl games and other related football events na nilalagay sa blog niya.

      Delete