BACOLOD CITY—Visibly struggling with its form after a long layoff, the Philippines bowed to Chinese-Taipei, 1-2, last night at the start of the Philippine Peace Cup at Panaad Stadium here.
The Azkals, playing their first match together in two months, dominated the match for long periods, but were left wanting defensively as the Taiwanese scored twice against the run of play to avenge their 1-3 loss to the hosts in last year’s tournament.
Unfazed by the quality and experience of the hosts, Li Mao and Lin Chang-lun scored in each half for the Taiwanese, who can pick up the Peace Cup trophy with a victory over Pakistan on Sunday.
The Taiwanese took a shock lead in the 14th minute with Li opening the scoring with a lovely chipped finish over Neil Etheridge and into the back of the net.
Li looked like he was in an offside position when he picked up the ball near the halfway line, but instead of chasing him, the Azkals defense switched off, exposing Etheridge.
The Azkals finally got the reward for their enterprising play with James Younghusband equalizing just two minutes into first half stoppage time.
Missing top scorer Phil Younghusband and Paul Mulders due to injuries, the Azkals struggled finishing off chances created by Schrock, who also bungled a golden opportunity in the 80th minute.
Deployed in Phil Younghusband’s position, Angel Guirado found difficulty finishing. Guirado had an early chance from just outside the box saved by Pan Wei Chih, who also denied OJ Porteria’s left-footed effort early on.
The Azkals were made to pay for their inability to put the ball in the back of the net.
A quick counter attack off a botched set piece saw Lin beat Etheridge, after the ball took a deflection on defender Jason De Jong for the goal that spelled doom for the hosts.
The Azkals return to action Tuesday against Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Schrock already has his sights on powering the Philippines in its most important tournament yet in May next year.
The versatile Eintracht Frankfurt standout will be at the forefront of the Azkals campaign when they vie for an Asian Cup spot in the AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives.
“My main target is (the) Maldives (tournament),” said Schrock before the Philippines played Chinese Taipei.
“I don’t think we will have that much games before Maldives so we need every game.”