THE Philippine Azkals need to overcome their disappointments in the 2016 AFF-Suzuki Cup football tournament.
Veteran striker Phil Younghusband said this after the Azkals drew with Indonesia, 2-all, Tuesday night in their Group A encounter at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan.
It was their second straight draw and because of this, the Azkals did not get enough points to make it to the semifinal round.
“It’s a disappointing result. But we still have a chance to qualify. We showed good character coming back twice. But we know we shouldn’t be in this position in the first place,” said Younghusband.
The six-foot Fil-British striker bailed the Azkals out of trouble in the 82nd minute when he scored on a free-kick, a volley shot from right outside the box that went past a nine-man wall, into the top corner, and over the head of goalie Kumie Hermansyah Meiga.
The draw turned their final elimination-round match against the Thailand War Elephants a crucial one on Friday.
If the Azkals lose, they’re out. They need a win, coupled by a drawn game in the Singapore-Indonesia encounter in a simultaneous match over at the Rizal Memorial Football Field, and the Azkals will have a good chance of making it.
“We have to play very, very well against Thailand. We have not beaten them. If we qualify, we make history,” added Younghusband.
So far, Younghusband has scored a total of 42 international goals since he started playing for the Azkals in 2006.
Singapore and Indonesia also have good chances of reaching the semis if any of them wins and the Philippines settles for a draw again, or loses.
The Merah Putihs were the first to score in the the seventh minute when Stefano Lilipaly made a free-kick that went to teammate Fachruddin Aryanto, who then outjumped Martin Steuble and then scored it off a powerful header.
In the 31st minute, Azkals’ booter Misagh Bahadoran scored when he beat Kurnia Meiga in a chase for the ball inside the box, after he received Stephan Schrock’s free kick.
Indonesia moved ahead in the 68th minute when Andik Vermansyah’s attempt hit the post, before Boaz Salossa followed it up with rebound and tapped it past Azkals goalie Roland Muller.
There were other scoring chances for the Azkals. One of them was from Martin Steuble.
After receiving the ball from 25 yards out, Steuble shifted the ball onto his left foot before rifling it straight into Indonesia goalkeeper Kurnia Meiga, who saved it.
Then, there was Manny Ott, who evaded out of several challenges before Kurnia made a save in the 12th minute.
