Azkals, Malaysia battle to 1-1 draw
The Ghost of SEA Games Past almost came back to haunt Malaysia, but in the end the current Southeast Asian champions escaped with a 1-1 draw against the Philippine Azkals in their international friendly last night at the Rizal Stadium.
The Philippines was only three injury-time minutes away from duplicating the feat of their 1991 counterparts, which upset then-defending SEAG champion Malaysia, 1-0, at the very same venue, but the Azkals conceded a goal in the 91st minute after substitute Ahmad Shakir Md Ali found plenty of space inside the Philippine penalty box to slot home the equalizer.
Denis Wolf had given the Philippines the lead in the 34th minute with a close-range header off a brilliant throw-in by Jason Sabio, and good defending by the backline and exceptional goalkeeping by Neil Etheridge kept the score that way for most of the second half. But just as a match official held up a sign that said there would be three minutes of added time, Ali maneuvered around Sabio and found himself unmarked with only Etheridge to beat. He rifled the ball into the far corner, just out of Etheridge's reach, salvaging a draw for the reigning AFF Suzuki Cup champions.
Overall, though, it was a fair result. The Philippines controlled the match in the first half and created a few decent chances in the first few minutes as Malaysia, unable to practice last Tuesday after getting stuck in the metro-wide traffic jam caused by a massive religious gathering, groped for form on the poorly-maintained pitch. The Malaysians couldn't get their short passing game going as the pitch produced odd bounces at times and caused several players to slip.
Phil Younghusband had first crack at a possible score in the 10th minute with a free kick that was on target but went straight to Malaysian keeper Norazlan Razali. Younghusband had another chance in the 25th but his attempt from around five yards out was thwarted again by Razali.
Malaysian striker Mohd Safee Mohd Sali, the leading scorer in the 2010 Suzuki Cup, had a chance in the 31st, but his attempt from way out sailed just above the crossbar. Overall, though, Etheridge was hardly troubled in the first half as the Philippines controlled possession.
"I expected a tough match because I saw the Philippines play recently in the World Cup Qualifying," Malaysia's coach Datuk K. Rajagopal said afterwards. "And I was a bit concerned because we didn't train for two days. We expected them to start aggressively and to play the aerial balls to harass our defense. As you know, we are more well-versed in the short passing game. Probably it didn't come out because of the condition of the pitch. Probably we could have sealed the game in the first half when we had three opportunities. But then I knew it was a matter of time that the Philippines would get a goal because we were giving away set pieces. They were good in that. And they got a goal."
Rajagopal made two changes in the second half and got his side to play more aggressively, attacking more from the flanks as they desperately searched for the equalizer. The Malaysians had a number of opportunities to score much earlier in the half, but Etherodge came up with what Rajagopal called "sure-goal saves", including a beautiful punch out in the 80th minute that looked certain to go in.
The Philippines continued to threaten, though, and in the 66th Angel Guirado's effort from just outside the box came tantalizingly close to making it 2-nil, the ball caroming off the right post. A minute later, Guirado unleashed a bicycle kick that would have brought the house down had it gone in, but luckily for Malaysia Razali came through with a save.
"We came back in the second half," Rajagopal said. "I was confident, and I made two changes. I think it was an entertaining match for both the teams, and I want to credit my players for their attitude. They never gave up, even though the Philippines was harassing us through counter-attacks. I told them we need to be more confident, and we are not tight. We were giving a lot of room and space for the Philippines to create chances."
Said Etheridge, "I think we played a very good game. I think it shows how far we've come in a space of a year and six months, and we can only take big steps going forward. Of course we would have wanted to win today. Who doesn't want to win the game?"
Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss rued the missed opportunity to score a big win, but said he was pleased with their play.
"It feels a little bit like a loss, because you're so close to winning a match. But I have to congratulate the team for a fantastic effort. I think we have to take into consideration that our defensive line is just playing for the fourth time together. It is amazing how players can adapt and nearly beating the reigning Suzuki Cup champion and under-23 winners. If you take into consideration the programs that they have, you should appreciate more what is happening here.
"I'm very happy for the match. It was good, even though we didn't get a win."
"I actually thought it was quite a fair result," Sabio said. "Obviously we wanted to win, and we wanted to keep that 1-nil lead. But as the game progressed in the second half, Malaysia kept coming and coming and we kept dropping, and unfortunately you can't play defense for (only) 90 minutes against a quality squad like that. We had our chances, we didn't finish. They had their chances, they didn't finish."
Wolf, who again displayed fine form and showed he can mesh well with Phil Younghusband up front, also expressed disappointment at letting a won game slip away.
"I think we played a very good game. We just got unlucky. I may have scored the goal but I would rather have scored no goal and won the game. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm looking forward."
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