Azkals regain heart after brave N. Korea draw

Philip Younghusband of the Philippines, left, and Ri Chol Myong of North Korea, right, compete for the ball, during their preliminary joint qualification round 2 soccer match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. AP

PYONGYANG—Philippine Azkals coach Thomas Dooley says he can look back at it and manage to laugh now, but never in his tenure with the national team had he been caught in a situation this tough in a match that was so important.

Late in the second half of the World Cup qualifying duel with North Korea at Kim Il-sung Stadium last Thursday, several Azkals were battling cramps even as the home side grew in confidence.

Left wingback Daisuke Sato had gone down with cramps, while Patrick Reichelt, playing on the right flank, looked like he couldn’t move his legs after all the running on the hard artificial turf.

Just a few yards behind him, Stephan Schrock was stretching his right leg, trying to prevent cramps while Phil Younghusband willed himself to track opposing midfielders.

The Azkals were facing an onslaught from the North Koreans in front of a crowd of 50,000 whose slogan-cheering seemed to give the home side a spring in their step.

Dooley had two more subs and in came Stephen Palla for Sato to help marshall the backline, before the experienced Paul Mulders was thrown into the mix for Richelt to give the Azkals some size defending set pieces and at the same time some composure on the ball.

The Azkals dug deep, stayed resolute and survived for a 0-0 stalemate, salvaging a point that comes in handy in this long qualifying campaign.

“The plan was to play with a lot of heart and never give up,” said Dooley. “The way we played with that kind of heart, with that kind of attitude, I’m very happy the way everything turned out.”

But coming away with a goalless standoff against the unbeaten North Koreans has more than just jacked up the points for the Philippines.

Their confidence shattered by the heavy 1-5 loss to Uzbekistan at home last month, the Azkals restored belief back into the squad.

The Azkals flew to Manama, Bahrain early Saturday via Beijing and Abu Dhabi, brimming with optimism as they gun for another win over the Bahrainis, this time in enemy territory on Tuesday.

It has been a tough road trip so far for the Azkals as they had to stay in Beijing for 15 hours while waiting for their flight to Abu Dhabi. But with the huge result in Pyongyang under their belts, confidence is soaring.

“I think the confidence is back after the game against North Korea,” said Dooley.

“I think we are totally back in business. This result and maybe another win next week will open up big doors for us.”

The Azkals, however, stayed in third spot in the group with seven points from four matches, while North Korea saw its lead reduced to a point after Uzbekistan secured a third straight win at the expense of Bahrain, 4-0, in Manama to improve to nine points also last Thursday.