Experts confident Phl XI will pull thru

MANILA, Philippines - Former national football coach Aris Caslib said yesterday he expects the Philippines to beat Mongolia in the rematch of their Challenge Cup home-and-away qualifying series at Ulan Bator this afternoon and predicted the same score, 2-0, as in the first game in Bacolod.

But to clinch the tie, Caslib said the Azkals must make adjustments in their style of play particularly as Mongolia will have scouted the Philippines more assiduously by now.

“When we break away, we can’t just go to the left or right because as Mongolia showed in Bacolod, they can manage us from either side,” said Caslib. “We’ve got to open up the middle. Phil (Younghusband) and Ian (Araneta) must work together to create opportunities. I think Anton (del Rosario) must time his overlapping run to give us a chance to attack the middle. (Peter) Jaugan and Simon (Greatwich) should play in combination to give our strikers more openings to score.   In basketball, you take long shots to open up the middle. It’s the same thing in football.   Phil was well marked in Bacolod so we have to find ways to get him free.”

Caslib said he has attended coaching seminars in Mongolia and is familiar with the national stadium conditions. “The venue isn’t very big and can accommodate only up to 2,500,” said Caslib. “My main worry is the climate but I think we’re prepared to play in cold weather. Our Fil-foreigners are used to the cold but our locals like Chieffy (Caligdong) and Ian must cope. I know Chieffy and Ian will step up. The training in Baguio and Japan should be sufficient to get the team used to the weather.”

Caslib said the absence of goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and defender Rob Gier may or may not make a difference. Eduard Sacapano will take over Etheridge’s job.

“I think Sacapano will do fine,” said Caslib. “When we played in the 2006 Challenge Cup in Bangladesh, he was our goalkeeper and did okay. We drew twice and lost only once. That was his first time in international competition.   We had a goalkeeping coach counselling him during the tournament. So in Mongolia, we’ll need someone to just focus on Eduard. We’ve got to build up his confidence. As for Gier’s absence, I think we’ve got enough defenders to fill in. Aly (Borromeo) and Anton are tough defenders. So our depth is enough to make up for Rob.”

Philippine Football Federation (PFF) chairman Johnny Romualdez said once the game gets going, the weather won’t be a factor for as long as the players keep moving.

“That’s football, if you don’t move, you don’t score or you don’t defend so I expect our team to be on the move from start to finish,” said Romualdez. “It’s not easy playing in freezing conditions particularly at the start. My worry is our goalkeeper. He could tighten up if he doesn’t get too much work. We know that Neil is a big part of our defense and without him, Sacapano must work double time because Mongolia will be on the attack. Mongolia didn’t show too much offense in Bacolod but if they want to win the tie, they’ve got to score and win by at least three goals. We’ll miss Rob, too, but our defense should be able to cover up.”

Romualdez said since Mongolia will be more offense-oriented, the defense should loosen up for the Azkals to score. “Once the defense opens up, Phil will score, that’s for sure,” said Romualdez. “We’ve got others who can also score like Ian, Chieffy, James (Younghusband) and Jason (de Jong). I think it’ll be a more exciting match than in Bacolod, more high-scoring. It’s all a matter of playing to our strengths and covering up our weaknesses.”

Another former national coach Juan Cutillas said the Azkals will win with no problem.

“Let’s face it, Mongolia is a poor quality team,” said Cutillas. “I think we should win without any trouble. The difference in our skills level is abysmal. The weather might slow us down but I think we should be acclimatized by now. I recall when I was coaching the Australian team from Queensland, we toured New Zealand and during one game, the temperature dropped from five degrees above to three or four below zero in a matter of about 45 minutes. But we kept on playing.”

Cutillas said he was disturbed by reports that the Azkals lost badly to a university team in Japan twice last week. The scores weren’t close, 4-0 and 8-1. “I don’t know what happened, maybe we just couldn’t cope with the quality of the opposition or the weather was too cold for us or we weren’t complete,” said Cutillas. “Whatever the reason, I’m hoping it won’t affect our performance in Mongolia. I expect Mongolia’s defense to open up a little and that will make it easier for us to score. If our defense holds, they’ll try to score with long balls but we should be able to handle whatever they try.”