Photo by Cedelf Tupas
DOHA, Qatar—They are nowhere near qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but two hard-fought victories in a span of five days have the Philippine Azkals dreaming big.
The Azkals put on a glittering display of attacking football to blank Yemen, 2-0, Tuesday night for their second straight victory in the Asian zone qualifying at Qatar Sports Club Stadium here.
Misagh Bahadoran was on target for the second straight game while Iain Ramsay scored in only his second appearance for the national side as the Azkals dominated the Group H encounter played in hot conditions.
The two goals were set up brilliantly by striker Javier Patiño, who returned to the team after missing the last two major tournaments due to injury.
With the victory, the Azkals collected six points from their first two matches, tying North Korea at the top of the group. The Koreans beat Uzbekistan, 4-2, in Pyongyang Tuesday.
“We’re happy with the result,” said Azkals manager Dan Palami. “When you win against Bahrain, you can feel that the team is playing well. But this win (against Yemen) confirms how far this team has improved. Maybe we can continue surprising teams in the tournament with the way we’re playing.”
Only the No. 1 squad in the five-team group will make the third round of the qualifying tournament, but the Azkals have never gotten this far or played sensationally at this stage of the competition. The Azkals play their next game at home on Sept. 8 against the Uzbeks, the top-ranked team in the group.
“I’m very happy with the way we played,” said Azkals coach Thomas Dooley whose team immediately flew out of Doha after the game. “I’m humbled that we were able to play the way we did. We kept the ball and created chances. Almost everything worked.”
The Azkals arrived in this rapidly developing oil-rich country on the heels of an epic 2-1 win over Bahrain last Thursday at Philippine Sports Stadium.
Ranged against a Yemeni side that bowed to North Korea, 0-1, just five days ago, the Azkals probed with no reward in the first half. Still, they were encouraged by the way they controlled possession and how they put the opponents on their heels while hardly giving them a chance to generate their own attacks.
Patiño and Bahadoran as well as Manny Ott couldn’t cash in on their chances early on, but the Azkals always looked like the team most likely to score in front of 5,200 fans, most of them Filipinos based here.
Showing newfound confidence after scoring his first international goal against Bahrain, Bahadoran dazzled on the right flank. He finally broke the deadlock eight minutes after the break, cutting inside from the right and swapping passes with Patiño before turning and shooting brilliantly past Mohammed Ebrahim.
Substitute Patrick Reichelt couldn’t find the target with the goal at his mercy in the 72nd minute, but the Azkals doubled the lead two minutes later through Ramsay, who was set up wonderfully by a low cross from Patiño. A long punt from Neil Etheridge was headed to Patiño’s path by Reichelt before the striker found Ramsay surging inside the six yard box for a tap-in.
“We’re creating a team that works hard to be successful,” said Dooley. “We have unique players but it’s all about doing the job collectively.”
Phil Younghusband had a relatively quiet performance at midfield, while Ott sparkled with his passing and movement. Cleared by Fifa to switch from England to play for the Philippines, Luke Woodland started in the middle of a three-man backline. Kevin Ingreso was also handed his debut coming in for Ramsay in second half stoppage time.
Originally posted: 02:46 AM June 17th, 2015