After 40 years, Azkals topple Singapore

2:45 am | Sunday, September 9th, 2012

SINGAPORE—Fueled by a virtuoso performance from Stephan Schrock and the quality finishing of Chieffy Caligdong and Phil Younghusband, the Philippines finally broke a long winless spell against Singapore with a 2-0 thumping Friday night at the Jurong West Stadium here.

In one of the national side’s finest performances, Caligdong and Younghusband supplied the finish to well-crafted counter-attacking moves as the Filipinos won for the first time in 40 years against one of the traditional powerhouses of Southeast Asia.

Both teams were making use of the friendly match to sharpen up for the AFF Suzuki Cup in November, but for a Filipino side always aching to prove itself, the win meant so much more.

“I’ve always believed that we could be there with the best in Southeast Asia and tonight we were able to prove that somehow we can actually win against a strong team in the region,” said Azkals manager Dan Palami.

“It’s a massive statement,” said defender Rob Gier. “We’ve always been in the shadow and people saying that we were lucky in the Suzuki Cup. This shows that we are contenders for this year’s tournament.”

Schrock’s brilliance, a resolute defense anchored by Gier, Jerry Lucena and Jason Sabio and quicker combination plays compared to the scoreless draw against Cambodia helped the Azkals avenged their 0-2 loss to Singapore in October last year.

“It just shows that we have come a good way from last year,” said Azkals coach Michael Weiss. “But definitely by far we’re still not at the level where we could be.”

Against the run of play, Schrock found Caligdong, whose classy right-footed finish took a fortunate bounce of a rough patch of grass in front of goal before finding the back of the net.

Younghusband atoned for a couple of early misses with a left-footed strike in the 49th that came after Schrock floated a measured ball into his path just outside the box.

Caligdong could have made it 3-nil when he latched unto a cross from Carli de Murga in the 62nd minute, but only managed a foot save from Singapore goalkeeper Hyrulbizam Jumaat.

Singapore actually had the first clear chance when Shi Jiayi’s low shot was stopped by Neil Etheridge in the fourth minute. The Lions had a goal disallowed for offside in the 36th minute when Fazrul Nawaz tapped in from close range and almost forced an own goal when Etheridge bobbled a header by Shi five minutes later.

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Tags: Azkals , Football , Philippine Azkals , Singapore Lions

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IRQJL2B5MRJVVYRZIUTODKQZ7E Marc

Congratulations sa team sa pagkapanalo sa Singapore. Grabe ang ganda ng nilaro ni Schrock at Paul Mulders para suportahan si Phil at Chieffy.

Hay naku. Heto na naman yung mga nagko-comment tungkol sa pagiging “purong” Pilipino ng mga foreign-based players ng Philippine National Football Team. Kumita na yan. Kung gusto nyong magreklamo, pumunta kayo ng FIFA at dun kayo magprotesta. Sila na nga ang nagsabi na Pilipino ang mga players foreign-based players natin, sino kayo para kumontra?

At para naman sa mga “DSLR” fans, kung ako sa inyo, hwag lang laban ng Philippine National Football Team ang panoorin nyo. Kung naka-base kayo dito sa Maynila, manood din kayo ng mga games ng UFL. Suportahan nyo ang liga natin. At least makikita nyo ang mga paborito nyong players na naglalaro every week. Kung sa probinsya naman kayo, panoorin nyo sa local channels ang games ng UFL, patuloy nyong suportahan ang mga liga nyo at suportahan nyo ang mga locally-based talents nyo na makapasok sa UFL.

The same goes para sa lahat ng liga sa Pilipinas, ke basketball, football, volleyball, baseball etc.

Go Philippine Navy FC!
Go Forward Taguig Patriots!
disqususer22

often I fall into thinking that it’s a pity our National Football Team is just an official concoction, nothing more. unlike other teams who embody their “national-ness” by having its members plucked out of the best and brightest players all over the “nation,” having honed their skills through their experiences in their own local communities and neighborhoods, we had to assemble ours from Europe. i’m not saying it’s a bad thing. and like many others, i hope that if anything, what i call The Azkals National Experiment will succeed in waking up our own local kids to play the beautiful game :)

good luck sa pambansang programa sa pagsusulong ng larong ito! good luck sa Kasibulan!
oh_noh

congrats!
Demuel Bendano

I was watching the Paralympic 5-A side football aka “football for the blind”. I have never seen that kind of finise and superb dribbling far beyond what you can saw from Pele, Maradona, and even Messi, throughout the span where I watched football in the span of 3 decades.

Maybe any PH coach and abled players should start playing football that way.
ealicer

I know that PYH and Caligdong are good but we need more quality players on the forward position. We have so many chances scoring against spore but because our forwards can’t really control the ball that well it has come into waste.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RBIDZKSBUZKIEVIX67HTYCXZYA Jimmu Tenno

This is the “basketball” mentality that most Filipinos have, “we need a scorer” I am confident that Younghusband and Caligdong can hold their own against the best in SEA whats needed is the likes of Shrock, somebody who can create attacking opportunities. Also needed are good defenders to beef up the backline to support Etheridge.

To the rest of the Filipinos joining the Azkal fever (band-wagon) at the least learn a bit of the game, I was at the game against Singapore and most of the fans were there to either take photos of themselves being there or take photos of good-looking Azkals.

Dont get me wrong the support given to the team is great but its just a fad for these “fans” just like the truckload of DSLR hang over these ” fans’ ” neck.

At the very least I wish that these “fans” know what offside is.

H K

I agree with your analogy of DSLR fans.

Most of those have the mentality just because you have a 20MP camera, your pictures will be great…more so, most of these users only use the auto function of the camera (which is only 1 out of 8 functions).

As I told my sister who wanted to waste money on such camera. I told her do you even know how to shoot macro and what to use…she said “thats why the camera is expensive, it does all the thinking for you….”

11 out of 10 times, that’s pinoy mentality.

The bandwagon fans you mentioned in the second paragraph….I even call them racists.

Why?

If the team was a team of igorots (and what if they are super duper footballer igorots)….will these fans yell, scream, dream, swoon and kilig over igorot footballers?

Football don’t need ignorant and idiot fans like these.

That is why the rest of the world are laughing at us…not with us.
Offshore10

I was born on the time that basketball was the “in” sport in this country aside from boxing. With the likes of the Living legend, aerial voyager, triggerman, am I to blame. I only heard of Pele, Maradona in the radio or read them in the broadsheets. But after college, Professional basketball team representing the country suffered back to back setbacks in the international arena and that was also the first time I seriously watch a football match (portugal v Uruguay, Portugal won that world cup edition) I came to love the “Beautiful Game” I thought it would be a game where height is not might. For the Past couple of years, I got the chance to be assigned in the mediterrenean region. I witnessed how time stopped on these countries during the 2010 WC. How spain despite without a star player in their roster (no Messi, C. Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldhino,or even a former WC player turned coach Maradona ). How they “dribble” the ball using their feet instead of their hands. And my last stop in that region was on a country where they stayed wide awake up until 2am in the morning just to see Real Madrid and FC Barcelona “kill” each other. Now I dream of the word AZKALS representing the Asia region in the near future World Cup. You are correct, ask these “fans” what offside really means.
ealicer

But the question is how many are there in the likes of Schrock? And do you think the defense will not crack if most of the ball position in on the opponents side? How can the Azkals mid fields be that effective it its forwards could just easily give up position. What I’m saying is the Azkals should have a balance of quality players on the field. If you look at the national team of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia not only they have a good mid-fields and back four but their forwards are fast and has the quality to retain position and create not just for themselves but for their teammates as well.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HV5PGL7TI6WR7K7HGG7K4A3MCE Run

We will prove nothing in this sport, a team with foreign players is nothing. We need an all pure flooded Filipino here not imports.

aredconsult

@run -spoken like a true crab.foreign born filipinos- not foreigners. you forget about duric, bennet, the prc born chinese playing for spore
http://twitter.com/marbs2010 JM Rodriguez

It’s unfair to call them ‘imports’/'foreigners’, since ALL of them came from a Filipino mother/father. And FYI, We have been playing with ‘pure blooded’ Pinoys from the 1960s-2005. We achieved nothing. Now with the European based players we are winning. It only shows how ignorant you are about the history of football in the country.
http://profile.yahoo.com/HCCPQXZAICLHBMA2YMVWLX5Q7E rey

tanga ka RUN tinawag mong foreign players import yung may mga dugong filipino na tulad mo, eh ikaw may nagawa ka na ba para sa bayan Pilipinas? BS ka….bago ka magcomment alamin mo muna ang larong football…bobo

http://www.facebook.com/angelito.santos3 Angelito Santos

We will proved this november that we are the best in southeast asia, go azkals go!!!!!!!

After 40 years, Azkals topple Singapore

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