Philippine Azkals settle for draw against Sri Lanka

The Philippine national football team settled for a 1-1 draw against Sri Lanka, but will head home with an away goal edge in the the first round of the 2014 Fifa World Cup Qualifiers at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka Wednesday night.

Substitute Nate Burkey equalized for the Azkals on a rebound of James Younghusband’s header in the 49th minute.

Younghusband’s effort from a free kick by striker Chieffy Caligdong bounced off Sri Lankan keeper Manjula Fernando,and Fil-American Burkey was there for the follow up header.

Midfielder Chathura Gunarathna struck a free kick for Sri Lanka in the 41st minute to open up the scoring.

The Azkals will again face the Brave Reds on Sunday, July 3, for the home leg at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

After a lackadaisical first half, the Azkals looked livelier on the attack after the lull but could not convert despite strong efforts from Ian Araneta, Fil-Spanish Angel Guirado and Fil-German Stephan Shrock.

The Sri Lankans had one last push, but Fil-British goalkeeper Neil Etheridge came away with a brilliant block on Anton Nimal Fernando’s potent attempt before the three-minute injury time.

Fil-British Phil and James Younghusband created several chances for the Azkals in the first half, but their attempts either sailed wide or gathered by the towering Sri Lankan keeper.

James Younghusband, Stephan Schrock, and skipper Aly Borromeo were all slapped with a yellow cards.

James got booked after a mini-scuffle involving brother Phil, whose right hamstring was draped on ice at halftime, while Borromeo got caught with a foul on Fazul Rahuman.