MANILA, Philippines - The Azkals may have fallen short of their quest to become the region’s new alpha dog but they did earn the respect of opponents as an emerging power.
After playing the Pinoy booters in two hard-fought matches in the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup, veteran defender Daniel Bennett of finalist Singapore described the Azkals as a tough customer and expects them to be serious contenders in future Suzuki Cup stagings.
“You know they just have to keep on going,” Bennett said after the Lions eked out a 1-0 win over Phl XI Wednesday night at the Jalan Besar Stadium to secure their entry into the finals and spoil the Pinoys’ championship dreams.
“They have a good side and they missed a couple of players as well in the Suzuki Cup (goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and midfielder Stephan Schrock) but I can see in years to come that Phl will be very, very hard to beat,” he added.
Bennett and the Lions were held to a 0-0 draw by the Azkals in the first leg at Rizal Memorial, but they got the better of the Pinoys in the critical return leg at home, gaining from Khairul Amri’s 19th minute volley.
“That game (return leg) could have gone either way, honestly. I mean they came in probably with a slight advantage as we haven’t scored an away goal so it was tough for us. But getting that first goal was key to our game really,” he said.
A member of the Singapore side that ruled the Asean tourney in 2004 and 2007, 34-year-old Bennett has seen the Azkals progress over the last few years. The current team, he said, is far better from the one he made his debut against in 2002.
“I think it’s already shown from two years ago (when the Azkals made a surprise semis appearance), that they’re a much stronger team (now) and it’s getting harder and harder to beat them. They’re big, they’re physical and you can see that they’re not giving up, they have that attitude and spirit. They’re gonna do well in the future,” the English-born fullback said.
Singapore, a three-time Asean titlist, has had a first-hand view of the Azkals’ improvement. In the 2010 Suzuki Cup group stages, they were forced to a 1-1 draw by the resilient Pinoys on the way to the latter’s breakthrough Last-4 stint. The following year, they scored a 2-0 win in a friendly but in 2012, the Azkals handed the Lions a 0-2 defeat at home and 0-1 setback in Cebu in the buildup to the Suzuki Cup.
Bennett said the pair of pre-tournament friendlies helped them get familiar with the Azkals, a helpful thing come semis.
“It definitely helped us. It was an absolute blessing that we played them two games and sometimes it’s better to lose to them in those friendlies because we learned that they’re catching us on the counter attack a few times. We changed our game slightly because we conceded those goals in Singapore and Cebu on the counter attack. Especially on my part, I stayed back a little bit more and we didn’t commit so many people forward,” he said.
The Lions will be gunning for a record fourth title against Thailand, which ousted 2010 winner Malaysia, 3-1, on aggregate. It will be a rematch of the 2007 finals which Singapore won, a duel marred by walkout by the Thais over officiating.