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PHILIPPINE AZKALS SCORE MAGNIFICENT 2-1 WIN OVER TAJIKISTAN TO ENTER CHALLENGE CUP SEMI FINALS By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Tue, 13 Mar 2012  The Philippine Azkals scored a magnificent 2-1 victory over a strong Tajikistan side to enter the semi finals of the AFC ?Challenge Cup? and proved that a ten-day sojourn together and a pre-tournament training program in the middle-east made all the difference at the Halchowk Stadium, Tuesday. Right after Tajikistan kicked off skipper Chieffy Calidong shot wide of the upright before Ray Jonsson crafted the first real chance when he his near-perfect cross from the left was narrowly missed by Phil Younghusband who went for a header with Tajik goalkeeper Alisher Tuychief who had a busy evening making a good save. Some three minutes later Azkals keeper Neil Etheridge had to sprint out of his position to clear the imminent danger posed by Dzhakongir Dzhalilov who was beaten to a deadly long ball by the Fulham substitute keeper. In the 10th minute the Younghusband brothers as James set up Phil with a neatly placed pass but Phil angled his powerful shot and Tuychiev made a good save. Again in the 32nd minute Phil latched on to a long ball which the Azkals used quite often but an awkward bounce saw the chance go begging. Down 1-0 at halftime after a hugely controversial goal in the dying seconds of added time in the first half when the referee disallowed a goal with the ball appearing to be cleared off the line but the linesman who was consulted by the referee ruled it was a goal to the dismay of the Philippine team. The goal was credited to defender Alexey Negmatov who had rushed around the referee when he was consulting with the linesman and obviously put some pressure on both men. Rather than breakdown mentally, the Azkals stormed forward time and time again to demonstrate their attacking potential to score two priceless goals in a torrid second half where despite some great possession football by the Tajikistan midfielders their forwards failed to add to their tally even as the Philippine defense held and goalkeeper Neil Etheridge once again proved his worth between the posts. The Philippine Azkals showed their attacking intentions in the very first minute of the second half when skipper Chieffy Calidong shot wide of the upright. The Azkals goal-scoring phenomenon Phil Younghusband who had a few appearances for Chelsea in the English Premier League when the colorful Jose Mourinho was manager and paid tribute to Phil?s work ethic, once again rose to the occasion in the 54th minute following some remarkable work by Angel Guirado who played the game of his life before being substituted in the 90th minute by Bahadoran. Guirado robbed Davronjon Ergashev on the left flank with some resolute play and then fired a shot right across the face of goal leaving keeper Tuychief stranded and giving Phil Younghusband a chance to slot the ball into the back of the net. It was Phil?s third goal of the tournament after he scored a brace in the 2-nil win over India on Sunday. In the 60th minute Tajikistan had a chance to grab the lead but Dzhalilov made a hash of his attempt when he had only Etheridge to beat from close range. Marvin Angeles came in for Calidong in the 65th minute after the Philippine skipper was brought down in a nasty tackle by a Tajik player who received a yellow card. The yellow cards came out in a hurry as the match began to deteriorate into a physical battle but the Azkals stood their ground and refused to wilt, instead launching wave after wave of attack with the midfield and defense playing with greater intensity and purpose. Phil Younghusband hit the upright in another tantalizing Azkals foray deep into the Tajikistan half in the 67th minute while Guirado who used his height and strength to muscle his way pass his defenders while exhibiting his dribbling skills missed with a header in the 77th minute. However, the Fil-Spanish star made amends for his miss with a classic header beyond the reach of the Tajikistan goalkeeper off a superb pass from James Younghusband who was his usual tower of strength on both ends of the pitch, throughout. Rather than sit back and defend German coach Michael Weiss continued to urge his players to keep possession and go forward when the opportunity presented itself which is exactly what they did in the face of the growing desperation of the Tajikistan squad which won the Challenge Cup in 2006. The Azkals kept pushing forward and put incredible pressure on the Tajik defenders to earn corners in the 81st and 85th minute as Philip Younghusband ballooned one over the crossbar when he had a good chance to increase the Philippine tally and Paul Mulders who sliced through the defense shot wide of the upright when a pass to the middle. There were jubilant scenes in the stands among the small but faithful crowd of Filipino supporters and among the players themselves who achieved a first by qualifying for the semi finals of the ?Challenge Cup? where they will meet another formidable team in Turkmenistan on March 16 with the winners moving into the finals almost certainly against the defending champions North Korea. The victory was what the AFC Challenge Cup website referred to as ?a fairytale run? The two sides last met in May 2008 in the qualifying tournament for the second edition of the AFC Challenge Cup with the Philippines, playing before a hometown crowd, holding the eventual finalists to a goal-less draw. The AFC Challenge Cup matches are telecast ?Live? from Kathmandu by ABS-CBN Studio 23 with noted commentator Bob Guerrero and injured Azkals skipper Ali Borromeo handling the coverage with a great deal of aplomb and some interesting insights. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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