FORMER coach Simon McMenemy is not disappointed at all with how the Philippine Azkals played, performed and finished in the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup Football tournament.
McMenemy, who coached the national team in 2010, watched the Azkals from the stands of the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan this time as an analyst for Fox Sports broadcasting company.
The Azkals, he believed, showed a lot improvement under current national mentor Thomas Dooley.
This was because when the Thailand War Elephants went on the counterattack in the 81st minute and prevailed over the Philippine Azkals, 1-0, Friday night, the Azkals forced the Thais to play in a different way.
“I think that they (Thailand) scored on the counterattack is a testament of how the Philippines was playing. They were making them play in a different way,” said McMenemy.
The setback knocked the Azkals out of contention after they finished their Group A campaign with one loss against two draws.
The Indonesian Merah Putihs, scoring 2 markers in the second half, turned back the Singapore Lions, 2-1, over at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila, and later joined the unbeaten Thais in the semis.
What forced the Thais to go on the counterattack was the result of how Dooley was tweaking the defensive position.
Dooley was putting in young players like Marco Casambre in the back in the early stages with Jeffrey Christiaens and Amani Aguinaldo.
“We needed more speed especially for counters. So that’s why I took out Mark and brought an experienced Kevin (Ingresso), he was good for the last 20 minutes to run up and down. That was the idea,” said Dooley. Then Casambre was subbed in favor of Ingreso in the last 20 minutes. This was when things turned around.
Masuk capitalized on the change, jumped out of the possession battle at midfield, and went for a counterattack, going for the winning goal with Ingresso chasing him.
The Thais played with their best players like Teerasil Dangda sitting out the game, and Dooley knows this.
“We could have scored in the first half. This is how they play. They have very good players. We have to look at how Thailand plays football. Even their second unit is a good team,” said Dooley.
On the other hand, McMenemy feels that the Azkals played much better this year in the Suzuki Cup, after they drew their games with Singapore and Indonesia.
“There’s a few good players in that team. If they stay together, the center player. He’s OK,” said McMenemy of Casambre, a 17-year-old rookie.