FORE MORE than a minute, Fil-Australian Iain Ramsay received a standing ovation from a big crowd of appreciative fans at the stands of the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
The long applause came when he struck with the winning goal during the one-minute injury extension time, carrying the Philippine Azkals to a 3-2 triumph over North Korea on Tuesday evening.
This allowed the Azkals to end their FIFA World Cup Qualifying bid on a bright note.
“It’s a nice feeling to score the winner, given the circumstances against a tough opponent,” said the 28-year-old Ramsay, after he went for a five-meter shot the moment he received a cross pass from Javier Patino.
Their victory allowed the Azkals to finish their qualifying round campaign with three wins against a draw and four losses.
“What’s important is that they believed that they can play against tough teams like North Korea,” said Azkals coach Thomas Dooley, who hinted that it could be his last game with the Azkals.
They kept North Korea from reaching the third round with their second setback, against five victories and a draw.
Uzbekistan became the lone qualifier in Group H after it disposed of Bahrain, 1-0, in a home game over in Tashkent, also on Tuesday evening.Dooley, whose contract as national mentor ended after the match, commended the team for putting up a big fight against North Korea.
He said after the game that he is no longer thinking about his role with the Azkals this coming November when they see action in the 2016 AFF-Suzuki Cup.
He is just thinking about rebuilding the Azkals to a better team and how they will perform in their next two games in the Asian Cup qualifiers.
The Azkals got a chance to score first, with Misagh Bahadoran, who was nursing a right knee injury over the last three weeks, heading in a rebound from a Patiño miss in the 43rd minute.
North Korea then leveled the count when So Kyong Jin turned in a rebound, 1-all, during the 2-minute extension before halftime
They took the lead at 2-1 when Ri Hyok Chol struck during a scramble in front for a goal in the 47th minute.
The Azkals kept their hopes alive when Manny Ott charged the net in the 84th minute to equalize, 2-2.
Team manager Dan Palami said he is happy that the team was able to come back from 1-2 down.
Efforts by new player Miguel Tanton and Amani Aguinaldo to keep an eye on dangerous Nokor midfielder Pak Kwang Ryong kept the team in the thick of fight.