Monday : Philippines vs DPR Korea

DFL 2017 - Feb 4-5

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Azkals fall short against Bahrain in international friendly

Miscues on defense spelled doom for the Philippine Azkals as they fell to Bahrain, 1-3 in an international friendly, Friday evening at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. 

Bahraini skipper Aadem Khabir hit the first of his two conversions four minutes into the first half, immediately putting pressure on the home team. 

The Pinoy side managed to get off decent attempts, courtesy of Kevin Ingreso and Manny Ott, but no conversions came as the Azkals headed into halftime trailing by a goal. 

Just like in the first half, Khabir struck quickly, scoring for the second time in the match just a minute into the second half, driving home a header from a corner kick to push the Bahraini lead to two goals. 

The Azkals found a bit of a spark in the second half in the form of Mike Ott, Manny's younger brother, who made his international debut. 

The younger Ott made an immediate impact, scoring his first international goal by finishing off a volley from Martin Steuble and pulling the Azkals to just within a single conversion. 

With an eternity of football left, the Azkals were unable to feed off Ott's momentum, and fail to equalize within the 90-minute regulation. 

A minute into stoppage time, Mazrooq Alromaihi made the Azkals defense pay once more, scoring off a header to make it 3-1 in favor of the visitors. 

Azkals assistant coach and Filipino football legend Chieffy Caligdong pointed out after the match that they needed to improve on transitioning from defense to offense. 

"Siguro yung transition from defense to attacking and attack to defense. Kailangan lang yung individual responsibility nung players, alam nila by position." Caligdong told ABS-CBN Sports. "It was a good game but a bad result, and may mga changes pag-dating sa North Korea."

The Azkals won't have much time to get back to the drawing board, as they head right back to the pitch on Monday in another international friendly against North Korea. 

http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/07/16/azkals-fall-short-against-bahrain-in-international-friendly

YouTube : Philippine Azkals set for a series of friendly matches to gear up for a big event later this year

Friendly : Philippines 1-3 Bahrain FT

Today , 8 pm

Friendly : Philippines vs Bahrain

Rizal Memorial Stadium

Livestream link (only for Philippines)

http://sports.abs-cbn.com/livestream/azkals

Follow me on Twitter : https://twitter.com/filipinofootbal










Attendance : around 1500-2000

Update :

4 mins 0-1 Bahrain
0-1 HT
Ingreso out , Mike Ott in
47 mins 0-2 Bahrain
50 mins 1-2 Mike Ott
64 mins Bugas in , Ramsay out
72 mins Arboleda in , Bahadoran out
82 mins Gadia in , Younghusband out
90 mins 1-3 Bahrain
1-3 FT

Azkals coach looking forward to crowd support

MANILA, Philippines – The original venue for the international friendly between the Philippine Azkals and Bahrain was supposed to be the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan. But that match has been moved to Rizal Memorial Stadium, as the former was under ongoing renovation.

The Philippine Football Federation and Azkals, led by head coach Thomas Dooley and Phil Younghusband, are urging Filipino fans to watch the international friendlies against Bahrain tomorrow and North Korea on Monday evening at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

“We expect 13,000 fans to fill up Rizal during our two friendlies. Unlike in Bulacan where there are around 6,000 who watched. The newly installed floodlights in Rizal are also now operational,” said Dooley

“The lineup of the teams in the two friendlies and for the Suzuki Cup in November will be on a day-to-day basis,” the Azkals coach added, “It will depend on how they play and their condition. But guys like Neil (Etheridge) won’t be available so we expect others like Roland (Mueller) and Patrick (Deyto) to step up their game.”

“Even if this is just a friendly game, our objective is to win against Bahrain and North Korea, and make sure no goals will be scored against us. There will be players, like Misagh, whose goal is to put the ball through the net and our midfielders (like Phil) who needs to be creative. These players might fight for their country and represent their country with pride.”

http://www.philstar.com/sports/2016/10/06/1630944/azkals-coach-looking-forward-crowd-support?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Azkals not treating match vs Bahrain as a friendly

By: Cedelf P. Tupas 

For a team that’s struggling to lure fans to watch in their own stadium again, the Philippine Azkals know victories even in friendly matches are now a priority.

And with six weeks to go before kickoff in the AFF Suzuki Cup, the Azkals are also hard-pressed to play attractive attacking football, while sorting out a defensive line that’s undergoing a transition.

But coach Thomas Dooley is experienced enough to understand that good performances do not necessarily get rewarded with victories in the same way that wins could come even if his team doesn’t play up to standards.

“Of course, I want to play nice, but what’s important now is having that confidence to win even if we don’t play well,” said Dooley.

“Results are all that matters. We did not play well against Kyrgyzstan but we got the win. That’s the spirit and mentality we want to develop because we know we can’t dominate games all the time.”

The Azkals, who came away with a 2-1 victory in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek last month, return to action against a familiar foe in Bahrain in an international friendly at 8 tonight at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The game starts a tough two-game stretch for the Azkals, who also take on North Korea on Monday also at RMS.

Both matches are aimed at preparing the Azkals for the bigger, more important battles ahead in the group stage of the Suzuki Cup, where they will face Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

As much as he wants a packed stadium for both friendly games, Dooley knows his team would have to win back the fans first by winning and playing well just in time for the Suzuki Cup, which kicks off Nov. 19 at Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan.

“It’s no longer friendly matches for us right now,” Dooley. “Its always a fight for the country, for the spectators and for sponsorships.”

http://sports.inquirer.net/225034/azkals-not-treating-match-vs-bahrain-as-a-friendly

PFF Advisory : Broadcast details of October friendly matches

The International Friendly Matches of the Philippines versus Bahrain and DPR Korea will be broadcasted by ABS-CBN Sports and Action. The telecast details are:

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07 October 2016 (Azkals vs. Bahrain) 
Venue: Rizal Memorial Stadium
Kick-off time: 8:00pm
Sports and Action Airtime: 7:50pm with pre-game, (live game coverage)
Sports.com livestream: 8:00pm (live game coverage)

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10 October 2016 (Azkals vs. DPR Korea)

Venue: Rizal Memorial Stadium
Kick-off time: 8:00pm
Sports and Action Airtime: 9:00pm (slightly delayed)
Sports.com livestream: 8:00pm (live game coverage)

Livestreamlink :

http://sports.abs-cbn.com/livestream/azkals