Philippine Azkals bow to Singapore

SINGAPORE—The Philippines, unable to capitalize on numerous scoring chances, absorbed a 0-2 setback to Southeast Asian powerhouse Singapore in an international friendly at the Jalan Besar Stadium here Friday night.

Shaiful Esah’s deflected effort in the 50th minute opened the scoring for the Lions, before Aleksander Duric doubled the advantage 15 minutes later with a brilliant run and clinical finish that beat Azkals keeper Neil Etheridge.

In a match that felt more like a home game for the Filipinos, Phil Younghusband was foiled by substitute goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud in the 50th minute and the Azkals, despite getting plenty of chances, were unable to break down a compact Singaporean squad that was preparing for a third round World Cup Qualifying clash against Jordan on Tuesday.

The Azkals, finally getting the services of some of their Europe-based standouts, are also making the most out of the international break by playing more matches together. They face Nepal on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Unlike in the 1-1 draw last year in the Suzuki Cup in Hanoi, the Azkals coped with the attacking threat from the Lions and even got the better chances themselves in a scoreless first half.

Caligdong, who has scored four goals in the last three matches, fired a warning shot when his effort from outside the box went just wide in the 28th minute.

The first goal from Esah came from a short corner kick which the Azkals failed to deal with. Esah fired a rocket that took a deflection on Ray Jonsson’s hip and sailed past Etheridge.

The 41-year-old Duric completed a quick counter attack with a pinpoint shot at Etheridge’s bottom right corner to seal the victory.

The loss could come with a heavy price for the Azkals as they might miss Angel Guirado and Ian Araneta against Nepal due to injuries. Guirado limped off in the 27th minute because of a suspected fracture ankle while Araneta twisted his knee midway in the second half.

Dennis Cagara, the Fil-Danish leftback, made his debut for the Azkals and was part of a formidable backline consisted of Jerry Lucena, skipper Aly Borromeo and Ray Jonsson.

Jason de Jong and Paul Mulders were paired up at midfield with De Jong, who looked solid in a holding role,  also missing a chance late in the second half when his volley from 25 yards out just went wide.

“We played against a clever and mature team,” said Azkals coach Michael Weiss. “But it was a good opportunity for the team to play together and see the things we need to work on before the home match against Nepal.”