Azkals stronger, better

Pinoy booters reaching peak form for Suzuki Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Elated with what he saw when the Philippine Azkals scored confidence-building 1-0 upset of Kyrgyzstan Wednesday night, team manager Dan Palami expressed confidence the Phl XI will hit top form in time for the coming AFF Suzuki Cup.

Misagh Bahadoran came off the bench to knock in the marginal goal in the 65th minute as the Pinoy booters hurdled their last international friendly prior to opening their Suzuki Cup campaign against Singapore on Nov. 19 at Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan.

The victory over the 99th ranked Central Asians restored the Azkals’ confidence after absorbing a pair of 1-3 setbacks in previous friendlies against Bahrain and North Korea last month.

“Certainly we were playing better than the past two friendlies, not just because of the result but because of how the players moved on the pitch,” said Palami.

“I think we’re really peaking at the right time and by the 19th we should be ready for the first game. It’s a work in progress but I like the way we’re headed,” he added.

Thomas Dooley said unlike in the October training camp and friendlies, the Filipinos were fitter and came in with mentally tougher, knowing full well they’re in the final stretch of their buildup for the Asean meet that the country is hosting for the first time in 10 days’ time.

“I’m happy not just with the result but with the commitment of the players. We’re very organized and we did actually everything we talked about before – try to being right in the back once they got too close to our goal, shifting, not giving players too much space, doubling up when somebody is on one-on-one and when you go forward try to be dangerous and help each other,” he said.

“The chemistry, the spirit in the team is almost 80 percent better than before and we need another 20 percent to go. I think with the victory and this kind of game (against Kyrgyzstan) we’ll be ready for the Suzuki Cup,” he added.

With central defenders Amani Aguinaldo and Daisuke Sato anchoring the backline, the Azkals solved the defensive flaws that hurt them in earlier friendlies.

The Filipinos put on the pressure and drew first blood 25 minutes after restart when Bahadoran, in a fine interplay with Iain Ramsay, fired a left-footed shot off past Baleri Kashuba. They held on to seal the big victory against Kyrgyzstan, duplicating their previous 2-1 reversal over in Bishkek last September.