Even after blown chance, Azkals see better days

Philippine Azkals’ Patrick Reichelt. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Neil Etheridge was so disappointed that the Philippine Azkals blew a big chance of getting a victory and settled for a 1-1 draw with Indonesia in the World Cup/Asian Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday that he felt there was a need for him to be accountable.

“Like [Azkals coach Michael Weiss] said, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. But I want to apologize for the effort the boys put in this camp and in these games,” Etheridge said after securing just one point in two games of the first qualifying window before big crowds at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The Azkals looked like they were heading for a special night before almost 10,000 fans and atone for the 2-0 defeat to Vietnam five days prior when they took the lead early in the first half on Patrick Reichelt’s 15th international goal.

“We sent you to a frenzy, but not the real frenzy because we didn’t bury the game,” Weiss lamented.

Weiss begged to disagree with Etheridge needing to be regretful over the failure to get the maximum three points and a better position in Group F of the joint qualifiers.

“We’ve been doing well compared to these last 2-3 years because of the chemistry that we have now,” Reichelt said.

Weiss and the Azkals will have some time off before resuming the campaign with a tough home-and-away series with group leader Iraq in March.