MALE’ – As the Filipino community tried to cheer up the heartbroken Azkals in a post-game dinner they hosted, young defender Amani Aguinaldo sat gloomily at the back of the stage, his head buried in his arms, crying his heart out after the devastating 0-1 loss to Palestine in the AFC Challenge Cup finals.
Keeper Neil Etheridge and coach Thomas Dooley took turns consoling the 19-year-old, obviously the most emotional of the lot.
Aguinaldo’s grief embodied the Azkals’ gnawing emotion from falling short of a targeted title and graduation into Asia’s elite, a biting feeling shared by millions more back home who stayed up in the wee hours to witness Phl XI’s chase for history on TV.
“Disappointed, gutted, so many adjectives to describe the feeling,†said Phil Younghusband who felt he let the team down when he missed a makeable goal that could have given Phl control in the first half.
“I feel really gutted and sad, this was a great opportunity for us and we weren’t able to take it,†said the striker who went straight to the airport to catch a flight to Singapore to join his club Loyola Meralco Sparks.
Team manager Dan Palami said it’s painful but this is where the Pinoy spirit takes over.
“For tonight, we allow ourselves to feel bad and despondent but tomorrow is another day. We have to rise from this defeat, from this debacle, let me say, but in the end, what’s important is we continue to strive for better performances from the Azkals, continue to strive to bring Phl football to a bigger stage,†said Palami.
The Azkals spent their last day in this island nation sitting on the Indian Ocean relaxing and enjoying the beach then took their flights home at night.