A step slower on defense and toothless on attack, a battle-weary Philippines side slumped to a 0-3 loss to Thailand Sunday night in a friendly in Nakhon Ratchasima.
The Thais proved they’ll be one of the teams to beat in the AFF Suzuki Cup with a classy performance that left the Azkals chasing shadows at His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary Stadium.
A well-crafted counterattack finished off by a Mongkol Thosakrai header in the 30th minute opened the scoring for the Thais, whose quick passing and movement caused all sorts of problems for the Azkals.
Prakit Deeprom pounced on some poor defending in the 54th minute to fire home from close range nine minutes into the second half, before Kroekrit Thawikan completed the rout with another fine strike in the 74th minute.
The Azkals hardly created clear-cut chances as they fell to their heaviest defeat under coach Thomas Dooley, who once again tinkered with his side.
“It was a great game for us to prepare for the Suzuki Cup,” said Dooley. “Obviously we gave a lot of players a chance to rest. We made sure everybody gets some experience.”
With some players seeing action in their fourth match in 10 days, the Azkals struggled to keep up with the Thais who came out aggressive, particularly on the counterattack.
The best chance for the Azkals came in the 72nd minute when Fil-Spanish defender Alvaro Silva, who made his first start, saw his header off a corner kick just cleared off the line.
Patrick Reichelt also bungled a chance early on when he fired wide despite getting plenty of space to surge into the box.
There were plenty of banged-up players on Dooley’s roster, forcing the American coach to shuffle his men.
Phil Younghusband was only good for a second half appearance while goalkeeper Patrick Deyto looked far from 100 percent.
“The players are tired and this is not easy,” said Dooley. “Our job now is to get legs and to get fit.”
The Azkals play Cambodia on Friday at Rizal Memorial Stadium for their final tuneup game before they battle Laos on Nov. 22 in Hanoi.