Azkals turn back Guam

MISAGH Bahadoran (left) of the Philippines tries to maneuver past Guam’s Ian Mariano during last night’s encounter at Rizal Memorial Stadium. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Substitute Patrick Reichelt simply refused to let all the Philippines’ hard work go to waste.

The Filipino-German scored on an 81st minute header as the Azkals edged Guam, 1-0, last night to take the early lead in the Paulino Alcantara Peace Cup at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The Azkals dominated the Guamanians for long periods, but were not rewarded until Reichelt, who came in on the 65th minute, rose above everyone else to beat Guam goalkeeper Douglas Herrick off a corner kick.

“Its like a dream come true,” said Reichelt of scoring for the first time for the country. Reichelt kissed the flag on his jersey and raced in front of the grandstand pointing to his mother, Cebu-born Elizabeth Alcala, who came all the way from Germany to watch him play live.

“I’m just happy she watched me play for the first time in five years,” he added.

Much of the pre-match talk focused on the absence of brothers Phil and James Younghusband who were left out of the team due to commitment issues. And for a while the brothers’ absence haunted the side, which couldn’t finish off countless chances.

Demitrius Omphroy sparkled in his international debut, showing superb skill and linking up well on attack that led to several scoring chances, while Chieffy Caligdong, Misgah Bahadoran and Ian Araneta were guilty of missing opportunities before they were substituted.

Chinese Taipei salvaged a 2-2 draw against a gritty Macau in the earlier match.

The Taiwanese, who wound up third behind Hong Kong and the Philippines when they hosted the tournament last year in Kaohsiung, needed to come back from a goal down twice to rescue a point from a match they were fancied to win.

Skipper Yang Chao-hsun was credited for the equalizer—an 89th minute penalty—as the Taiwanese averted the upset.