Former Azkal Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge searching for new club team

MANILA, Philippines – After spending the last eight years of his career playing for Fulham, goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is searching for a new club to suit up for.

Despite receiving feelers after becoming a free agent, Etheridge, 24, has yet to sign with a new team.

The long process has been hard to muster for the former Philippine national football team player, but he remains determined to open the next chapter of his playing career with a new team.

“I spent the last two weeks training at Wolves and thought I had done enough to earn myself a chance, but in the end it wasn’t to be," Etheridge told Skysports.

“But that’s football and you just have to pick yourself up and get on with it.”

Etheridge was offered a contract with Fulham to play in Championship side, but instead seized an opportunity over the summer to try out for the Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League side.

However, his tryout didn’t go as well as he had hoped and left him without a club.

“It was tough because I feel a close affinity to Charlton - It was the first club I was ever loaned to and I know a lot of the people there, so it was a great place to be training and playing," said Etheridge, a former student at the Chelsea Academy. "But I also have confidence in my ability to play in a Premier League set-up. So when I was offered a trial at QPR, I seized it.”

“I had the belief that I could earn a contract,” he said. “I felt that I had done my best, but I’ve discovered that sometimes it doesn't matter what you do.”

However, Etheridge is keeping his head up and keeping positive that he will get to find a new home soon.

Etheridge’s tenure with the Philippine Azkals hit a roadblock after he lashed out on social media after being left off the Philippine Peace Cup roster by head coach Thomas Dooley.

(RELATED: Why the Azkals are upset with team management)

“Football can have a habit of kicking you when you’re down and I suppose I’ve been very fortunate in my career up to now. I think what makes you as a professional is how you react to the challenges that football presents,” Etheridge said. - Rappler.com

Azkals fall to Myanmar in Peace Cup final

MANILA, Philippines - Another heartbreaking loss was witnessed by Filipino sports fans as Myanmar inched their way past the two-time defending champion Philippines, 3-2, to take the coveted Peace Cup crown from the home team in a heated game at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium on Saturday, September 6.

Myanmar’s offense went full on against the Azkals back-line from the opening whistle expressing their eagerness to conquer the home field of the Filipinos.

The Azkals tried to answer with several outburst of their own but the Burmese side of the pitch was well manned.

Meanwhile, a lob by Kyaw Ko Ko from well beyond the penalty box struck the upright and ricocheted into the back of the net leaving everyone in the stadium in awe as the Burmese took the lead early into the first half.

The booters of the Philippines tried to answer but the long balls were not connecting for the home squad as the defense of Myanmar proved to be too strong for them going into the half.

Consequently, Myanmar’s coach Radojko Avramovic was sent off to the stands during the stoppage period of the first half following a commotion on the sideline near the bench of his squad.

As play continued to the final half of the championship face-off, Daisuke Sato rolled in a sly goal from outside the box towards to back of Myanmar’s goal to level the match at 1-1.

The rejuvenated offense of the home team went into their attacking stance sending a barrage of shots towards the Thiha Si Thu-manned goal.

A penalty kick was awarded to the Philippines following a tackle on Patrick Reichelt inside the box. Phil Younghusband took the penalty and scored the goal that gave the Azkals the 2-1 advantage early in the second half.

One minute into the stoppage period, substitute Min Min Thu captalised on a defensive lapse by the Azkals to tie the match, 2-2, and send the game into extra period.

The momentum from the equalizer for the Burmese side continued into the first half of extra time as another fresh leg Soe Min Oo broke into the defense of the Azkals to take the lead, 3-2.

Myanmar’s defense foiled the sequence of urged attacks coming from the Philippine side in the second half of extra time to prevent the latter from scoring an equalizer and sending the game into a penalty shootout.

Palestine defeats Chinese Taipei for third place

Coming off a disappointing defeat against Myanmar, Palestine triumphed against Chinese Taipei, 7-3, after a commanding performance to cap off their conquest for the 2014 Peace Cup.

Early into the first half, a goal was notched in by Javier Mereles to boost the morale of his team, who suffered a devastating 4-1 loss against Malaysia during the first match of the competition.

Three minutes after, the hot shooting offense of the Palestinians struck again as Ahmed Wridat fired a bullet through the goal of Chinese Taipei extending the lead of Palestine to 2-0.

As the game went on, a hard tackle was issued by the Taiwanese deep inside the box which resulted into a penalty but Pan Wei-Chih prevented the ball from finding the back of the net.

Tides turned come the second half as substitute Wu Pai Ho sank a penalty that was given to their side after Lin Chang-Lun got tackled deep inside the box.

Capitalizing on the momentum, Yen Ho-Shen found a gap in the defense of Palestine to tie the game at 2-2.

A few moments after, the men from Chinese Taipei took the lead following a goal by Lin Chang-Lun but the Palestinians answered with a goal of their own courtesy of Abdulhamid Abuhabib to tie the game once more.

The game went into extra time as both teams had equal markers following the end of regulation.

However, the Palestinians dominated the exhausted Taiwanese as they open the floodgates for Wridat who scored 3 more goals in the extra period. - Rappler.com

Azkals begin Peace Cup title defense vs Chinese Taipei

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals relish the opportunity to put up an impressive performance before their countrymen as they kick off their title-defense Wednesday night in the shortened PFF Peace Cup at  new-look Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

First order of business is  Chinese-Taipei, a side that handed it a loss last year, in a 7 p.m. dispute for a finals berth in the four-nation tourney that's been reduced to a two-day affair due to a recent International Football Federation (FIFA) directive.

Asian Cup-bound Palestine and Asean bet Myanmar tangle at 4 p.m. in the opening fixture.

Winners of Wednesday's double-header will march into the gold medal match on Saturday night while losers will contest the bronze on the same day.

"The guys know what's at stake and it's nice to be back in Manila, it's been a while (since the Azkals last played at Rizal)," said Azkals skipper Rob Gier during Tuesday's pre-tournament press conference at Manila Hotel.

"The team looks pretty good," said Phl coach Thomas Dooley. "We've had tough training sessions because we want to move on the right direction and almost everybody is where he should be."

From a league format spread over three days, the third edition of the Peace Cup was reformatted to a short knockout format to comply with a Fifa ruling setting two international matches per A team in any international window.

But the shift won't affect the participating squads' attitude toward each game.

"For me, it's a must win game every game. It doesn't matter who you play against; you have to win every game, for the fans and to see where we're at," said Dooley.

The three-peat-seeking Azkals will have the chance to avenge their 1-2 setback to the Taiwanee in the 2013 edition. A shot at Palestine, their conquerors in the finals of the AFC Challenge Cup last May, is also possible if they both advance to the gold medal match or slip to the battle for third.

"It's a difficult game because we lost to Chinese Taipei last year so they're ahead of us and we have to put up a strong effort to beat them. On the other hand, we lost to Palestine in the finals of the Challenge Cup and Myanmar is another team we can get some experience from," said Dooley.

"We're in a situation where we have to show and prove something, especially with the two teams we lost to last time, and we want to change that," he added.

Chinese Taipei coach Chen Kuei-Jen said his side is a "young team that can run" and will "fight and try to get to the finals."

"We've studied Phl's games and we're gonna use our weapon, try to win," Chen said.

Palestine coach Jamal Mahmoud said only 50 percent of the roster that won the Challenge Cup are seeing action in the Peace Cup.

"This is one step to our preparations for the Asian Cup so it's very good (exposure) to us. But we didn't have good preparation because we have war in Palestine," coach Jamal Mahmoud said.

A Jordanian of Palestinian origin, Mahmoud could only link up with his players here in Manila and train for the first time Monday. He flew straight to the Phl capital as he couldn't get a "permit" from Israeli authorities to pass through Palestine.

Myanmar mentor Raddy Avramovic said the Peace Cup will give his young crew a good test.

"It's testing time, really, to see if we improved anything from the last Challenge Cup," said Avramovic, who is actually returning to Rizal after calling shots for Singapore in the semis of the 2012 Suzuki Cup against the Azkals.

By Olmin Leyba | philstar.com