Vietnam 3, Azkals 1 Postgame: speed bump in Hanoi

Image courtesy and copyright Anton Sheker.

My thoughts on the Philippines loss to Vietnam in their last AFF Suzuki Cup Group A match on Friday.

The home side seemed more motivated. After the Vietnam game I dubbed commentary for Indonesia’s 5-1 victory against Laos with former Kaya coach Mikee Carrion. He had his ideas on why we went down.

“Vietnam wanted it more. They were quicker to the 50-50 balls,” he observed. “When a team knows it only needs a draw, when that thought is in the back of their minds, it often will lose.”

The Azkals only needed a draw to get to seven points and finish first in the group.

There may be some truth in what Carrion is saying. Of course the Philippines were motivated to get that top seed and pull off the win. But we were already assured of progression. Vietnam, as it turns out didn’t need the win, but didn’t know that at kickoff.

Toshiya Miura’s side had the mentality that they needed a result. They also desperately wanted to erase the painful memories of 2010, to expunge the bad vibes of the Azkals win against them on that ground. They had a very big crowd on their side. They were up for the game. The Azkals also wanted to win, but did not have their backs against the wall, and it showed.

You can blame Thomas Dooley for the loss or credit him for going for the win. One friend of mine thought that Dooley should have packed it in and played for a draw. That would have been the pragmatic move to lock down the top seed and dodge Thailand in the semis, especially playing on the road. Many coaches would have gone that route.

But not Thomas Dooley.

As I write this I’m watching the replay of the game. I am struck at how many blue shirts there are going forward. True, the Philippines didn’t create enough telling chances. But they tried, and that is something we should note.

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Dooley made one change from the Indonesia game, and that was Mark Hartmann for Patrick Reichelt, a switch necessitated by Reichelt’s gimpy knee. The other tactical switch was Bahadoran and Steuble trading places. That’s certainly not a defensive adjustment.

At times the Philippines looked more like a 4-4-2 than a 4-2-3-1, and even kinda looked 4-3-3-ish at spells. It left us vulnerable to counters and allowed plenty of room for Vietnam to frolic going forward.

It was clear that Dooley wanted to play football. Play the attacking, enterprising style that the Philippines has employed in the two big wins leading up to this game. Play the brand of football that is needed to progress.

He could have allocated resources in holding midfield, maybe even going for a “Christmas Tree” 4-3-2-1 formation. Make two dense lines of defense to thwart every Vietnam foray forward. Get out of the stadium with a 0-0 draw. But he didn’t, and maybe that’s why Ngo Hoang Thinh and Pham Thanh Long had the space and time to pull off those two gorgeous long-range strikes.

Thomas stuck to his guns and played what for him was the correct and positive way of playing. I’ll tip my hat to him for that. Especially since a negative, cynical approach to games rarely win tournaments. Plus, you learn less playing that way.

Dooley’s team went down, but it can be argued they went down honorably.

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Patrick Deyto had a tough first half, but he will be back. Deyto was a hair slow to react on the first goal. He also had two nervous moments in the first half, coming out incorrectly for a ball in the box when two defenders were there and also punching unconvincingly on another Vietnamese loose ball.

Deyto has been a rock for the side, but Friday was his most difficult opponent and his toughest day. The keeper could hardly be blamed for the other two Vietnamese goals. That’s on the defense.

Patrick will need to step up in the semifinals because for sure it only gets tougher from now on.

Vietnam are a threat to win it all. Leading up to the game the talk was about Le Cong Vinh and how lethal he is going forward for Vietnam. On Friday he was almost a decoy more than anything else, as his mates took the limelight with three top-drawer strikes. I loved Vu Minh Thanh’s goal because it’s made by a sublime first touch off an looping ball that is read extremely well and redirected forwards to a dangerous area.

Vietnam supposedly lost the possession battle statistically, but in reality they had more of the useful possession. Miura has the toys to go for the trophy again, last won by the Tuyen in 2008. They have the speed as well. The only question mark might be the keeper, Tran Nguyen Manh, who allowed a howler against Indonesia.

It seems we are playing a home game in Rizal Memorial. Big sigh of relief by all. It appears that our dalliance with the Philippine Sports Stadium is over, as it is now being widely reported that we will stay in Rizal Memorial on December 6.

Dan Palami told me last night that it’s actually the players who want PSS because it’s natural grass. That sentiment is understandable. As much as artificial turf has improved over the years, a good grass pitch is still better.

But having said that, the artificial turf will be an adjustment for both teams and probably an even bigger one for the visitors. The Azkals haven’t played on plastic since the Cambodia tuneup, but they play there all year long in the UFL. They will know its quirks better.

You fans (with the possible exception of those in Bulacan), prefer RMS and it’s greater accessibility. Sure it seats less that PSS, but even with a semifinal, there is no guarantee that RMS will sell out based on recent games.

So the PFF has made the right move. Now it’s up to the fans to respond by packing every square inch of that arena on December 6. Let’s turn RMS into a loud, and hostile fortress and make life difficult for either Singapore or Thailand.

Filipinos are known for their gracious hospitality to visitors. For ninety minutes that needs to be set aside on Saturday.

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.