Thais deny Phl march to history

BANGKOK – No history-making feat on enemy territory for the Philippine Azkals this time.

The upset-conscious Azkals, who had their sights on a milestone finals berth in the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup, got stopped on their tracks by a cold-blooded Thailand side that dealt them 3-0 a heartbreaking heartbreaker before a roaring crowd of 40,000 last night at Rajamangala Stadium.

A shadow of the sharp crew that forced Thailand to a famous 0-0 draw at home, the Azkals couldn’t keep up with the relentless War Elephants and yielded the two-legged series via goal aggregate.

The War Elephants will face the winner of the other semis pairing between Vietnam and Malaysia.

“Overall, Thailand deserved to win, we couldn’t pull it off,” said Azkals coach Thomas Dooley, whose team wanted to replicate the starmaking “miracle of Hanoi” in 2010 against the Thais here.

“Like we said before, we’ll have a chance if Thailand doesn’t have a good game and we have a great game. But looking at the stadium with 40- or 50,000 fantastic fans, how can Thailand  play bad?” he added.

Needing a win to advance, the Thais came out charging and 30 seconds into the match, already got a free kick.

The home side connected at the sixth minute via Chanatip Songkrasin in a goal that the Pinoys contested, putting Phl XI under heavy pressure to equalize and salvage a draw to advance.

A brace in the second half by Kroekrit Thawikan (57th and 90th) made inevitable the exit of the Azkals, who played with 10 men in the last eight minutes with Martin Steuble getting his second yellow card for the night.

It was a sad ending for the Azkals who enjoyed a good tournament.

“Overall, I’m happy the way we played the whole tournament. After 80 years we won against Indonesia (in the group stage) and for the first time, we got a point against Thailand (first leg of semis).

“I can say we can go back home with our heads up.  We can’t just do it against a team that has a little of everything,” said Dooley.

In line with their big goals, Palami said they launched a fund-raising project called “Small Change, Big Change,” where fans can chip in their “small change” to the Azkals’ war chest.

“Our ultimate goal isn’t only to be the best in our part of the world. We hope one day to compete against the world’s best in the ultimate international football tournament: the World Cup,” said Palami.

He stressed that Phl XI would need all the help it can get to realize that dream.

“It’s a way for fans to do more than just cheer; it affords an opportunity for everyone to pitch in and help. Individually, these are small efforts; put together, they make a huge difference,” he said.