Philippine Azkals roll past Chinese Taipei in rain-delayed Peace Cup match

• From: Karlo Sacamos

AT least one Philippine team emerged victorious on Wednesday night.

Doing a fine job nurturing a sizeable lead, the national men's football squad rolled past Chinese Taipei, 5-1, for a rousing start in the Philippine Football Federation Peace Cup at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The Azkals built a two-goal first-half and never looked back as they avenged their 1-2 loss to the Taiwanese in last year's edition.

The victory somehow eased the pain from Gilas Pilipinas' 73-77 defeat at the hands of Puerto Rico in the Fiba World Cup.
The Azkals thus arranged a finale against Myanmar, which dispatched an 88th-ranked but depleted Palestine side, 4-1, in the curtain-raiser.
Mark Hartmann fired a brace, while Rob Gier and James Younghusband added a goal apiece for the Filipino footballers, who also benefited from an own goal from the Taipei.
Gier, who wore the captain's armband, was in the right place at the right time 25 minutes into the match when he caught a Phil Younghusband cross from the left side then fired low for the opening goal.
James Younghusband doubled the lead 12 minutes later after rewarding a Misagh Bahadoran pass in a counterattack.
Younghusband could've registered a brace in the second half, but his header hit the left post.
Chris Greatwich also found the back of the net, but was nullified after getting called for offside.

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