Another win for the PH Azkals once again. Let's rejoice and thank them for giving us another reason to be proud that we are Pinoys.
BANGKOK — The Philippine football team relived the magic of 2010 as it downed the very same team that launched the Azkal-mania to keep its semis bid alive.
Chieffy Caligdong stood tall for the Azkals again as he fired a curling shot in the 85th minute to power the Philippines to a 1-0 win over the former SEA Games champion in an all-important AFF Suzuki Cup at the Rajamangala Stadium here.
A disappointment in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to host Thailand, Caligdong came in as a substitute for James Younghusband with about 15 minutes left before stoppage time in the hope of injecting some late game magic.
InterAKTV file photo/Roy Afable
And the diminutive Air Force veteran didn’t disappoint.
Caligdong received a cross to the left wing off a galloping Angel Guirado from the center before hitting what appeared to be an effortless shot thayt blew past a diving Vietnamese goalkeeper Duong Hong Son into right side of the net.
The winning goal of the 30-year old Caligdong enabled the Azkals to repeat over Vietnam, almost two years after the stunning 2-0 victory in front of 40,000 spectators in Hanoi.
Their first match since that epic night was witnessed by a sparse crowd inside the 80,000-seat stadium but the outcome ended in similar fashion, frustrating a Vietnam team that entered the match hoping to avenge that painful setback.
More importantly, the win enabled the Azkals to revive their hopes of securing one of the two semifinal berths after gaining the much-important three points.
The Filipino booters, whose coach Michael Weiss sat on the sidelines to serve a one-game suspension for his sending off against Thailand, need to win on Friday against Myanmar at the SCG Stadium in Nonthanaburi, which is about a 37-minute drive from the Thai capital.
No comments:
Post a Comment