Azkals out to prove Bahrain win no fluke

Azkals eye a repeat of Bahrain win. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Eyeing a share of the leadership of Group H, the Philippine Azkals are pumped up for their upcoming match against Bahrain on Thursday.

“We’re ready for the game. We know how a big game it is. We’re ready and we know what we have to do to get a result here,” said team captain Phil Younghusband.

A win for the Azkals would tie them with North Korea for first place with 10 points.

Coming off of a scoreless draw against the tough North Koreans, the Azkals are using the momentum going into this Bahrain tussle set 11 p.m., Philippine time.

But Azkals team manager Dan Palami is reminding the team to not be complacent despite the the Azkals’ holding Bahrain’s number, beating them back in June, 2-1.

“Our confidence level is high,” he said. “We can never underestimate Bahrain. They’ve just come off of 4-nil loss to Uzbekistan here at home and they’ll all certainly look to redeem themselves in front of their countrymen.”

“We’re hoping that somehow, despite the motivation of their team, we’ll also be able to get the result that we want, which is a win, so we’ll still be in the hunt for a qualification in the third round. We need to show Bahrain that the first leg is not a fluke and we’re already in a position to beat them.”

And the players on the pitch also knows how hard their upcoming match would be.

“We need to score goals and support our finishing. We may not get many chances, but if we get one or two good chances, it’s important that we take them,” said Younghusband.

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