Azkals yield to Kuwaitis

KUWAIT – Azkals coach Michael Weiss drew the best game from his wards since he took the helm six months ago. If only it was sustained for an entire 90 minutes.

“I think we had a great fight here in Kuwait and the first half was the best match we’ve played so far under my guidance,” Weiss said after the Azkals yielded a 0-3 setback to fancied Kuwait Al Azraq in the opener of the 2014 Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers second round Saturday night.

The Azkals made a determined stand to frustrate the hosts’ attacks and were quite successful in the first half, save for key moment at the 16th when Kuwait’s top gun Fahad Al Enezi dribbled in front of two Azkals at the goal mouth to feed Yousef Naser for a crunching header and a 1-0 lead.

“It was an unlucky goal, “ Weiss said of Kuwait’s opening salvo, which was initiated when right winger Al Enezi got past Manny Ott and Chieffy Caligdong to launch a cross to Naser who sent it home.

On their end, the Azkals had some legit shots on counters in the first 45 minutes, courtesy of striker Phil Younghusband and midfielder Angel Guirado.

Just moments before Kuwait’s first goal, the Azkals opened up an opportunity when Younghusband forced Kuwait goalie Nawaf Al Khaldi to a diving save on a one-on-one to set up a corner. But Guirado’s header off Caligdong’s corner hit the crossbar then Jason Sabio’s follow up header was cleared by Hussain Fadhel.

In the 29th, Younghusband blasted a shot from outside the box but it also bounced off the bar.

“We were very close. If Phil’s shot had gone in during the early stages in first half, it would have been a different complexion and then he had another shot that hit the bar and Angel’s header hitting the bar also and it was at a time when the score was still 0-0,” said team manager Dan Palami

“But this is football, that’s why it’s called the beautiful game, it’s compleat, there’s drama, frustration, elation, all the emotions are mixed into one,” he added.

But reality set in in the final half as Al Azraq, fresh off victories over Iraq and Saudi Arabia in a four-nation Gulf tournament, took off its cuffs and cranked up its assault on the left flank, moving eight men forward on some occasions and getting rewarded with two more goals.

Defender Mesad Nada poked the leather in following a scramble in the box at the 84th and then with seven minutes left, Fahed Al Ibrahim punished a defensive lapse by Jason Sabio and Jason de Jong to boot in a dagger 20-yard shot that all but finished off the Azkals.

“We knew that we would meet a highly advanced powerhouse in the Gulf region. We studied them very carefully and I must say when you see like how they keep the ball rolling, it’s impressive. In the second half, it showed clearly that we’re still not yet in that level. They classically played us out and I wished we had prevented the late goal. (A score of) 2-0 would have been a good result for us,” said Weiss.

The absence in the defense line of Aly Borromeo and Stephan Schrock due to suspension and Paul Mulders and Jerry Lucena due to club commitments also worked against the Azkals, according to Weiss.

“We came here with four of our top players missing, players who have the experience to make a difference in a high level match like this against a tough opponent like Kuwait,” he said.

“Here and there we could not answer the position changes and fast ball flowing. We should have been more aggressive on midfielders; we gave them too much space. If we have a little bit more experienced players there, I think we could have scored one goal, but that is hypothetical. I must give credit to the boys; we have 19, 20-year-old midfielder and central and they did better than many people thought,” he added.

The 3-0 result meant the Azkals should beat Al Azraq by four goals or more when they go at it again in Thursday’s second leg in Manila to salvage a berth in the third round.

“The job at home has become tougher but I don’t think it’s impossible, “ said Palami.

Notes: Filipinos based here came in droves, occupying an estimated 65 percent of the 20,000 spectators at the Mohammed Al Hamad Stadium to make it feel like a home game for the Azkals. Some of them, though, gave up when the team went down by 0-3 and made a queue to the exits with still some 10 minutes left...Azkals captain Aly Borromeo was a busy man despite his suspension, taking down notes from his seat at the VIP section...The temp at game time was around 40 degrees but Phil Younghusband said players were too focused on the match to mind the heat and humidity.