We need to keep the faith

The 3-0 loss by the Philippine Azkals to Kuwait in the first leg of their home-and-away series in the 2014 World Cup qualifier was a disappointing result for many but was certainly not a disappointing performance to us.
Football is an enthralling game and very often the score and other relevant stats don’t reflect the real story.
To begin with, the Azkals could have completely changed the complexion of the game if the two attempts by strikers Phil Younghusband in the 16th minute wasn’t brilliantly saved by the Kuwaiti goalkeeper and Angel Guirado’s header hadn’t ricocheted off the crossbar.
While it is true that the Kuwaitis had 20 attempts at goal to our seven, it seemed to me that the quality of our attempts were often superior while the Kuwaitis were somewhat profligate in front of the Azkals goal, often sending the ball over the crossbar or wide of the goalmouth.
It is important to remember that while the Azkals set off with a formation that accentuated defense, they still had enough skill and audacity, especially in the first half, to fashion out a couple of real scoring chances.
On our end, Neil Etheridge, now riding the bench for English Premier League club Fulham as their No. 2 keeper, made some truly brilliant saves. The others that got past him were, under most circumstances, unstoppable.
The first Kuwaiti goal was a classic header by Yousef Naser from a perfect cross that gave Etheridge no chance at all. The second was poked in by Mesad Nasa after a goalmouth scramble where Neil was off-balanced after an initial save and our defenders were piled up on each other, giving Nasa a chance to get a toe to the ball.
The third goal was clearly the result of a defensive lapse borne of fatigue by the backs who played in stifling heat and had their energy sapped out. Kuwait created plenty of space for Fahed El Ibrahim to slam one into the corner of the Azkals goal as a desperate stretch by Etheridge fell short.
The Kuwaitis, some 57 notches ahead of the Philippines in the Fifa rankings, used their quickness, ball control and pinpoint passing to send the gallant but tired Filipinos chasing shadows.
To many, the return encounter at the historic Rizal Memorial Stadium on Thursday is only a formality.
The first-half showing of the Azkals before a huge Kuwaiti hometown crowd—matched against a noisy, flag waving gathering of an incredible band of about 5,000 Filipinos—provided a glimmer of hope that, indeed, the Azkals have the capacity to pull off a minor miracle in Manila.
It’s going to be a herculean task to overcome the three-goal advantage. But before a hometown crowd, a patch of silky green for a playing field and the indomitable courage of the Filipino, nothing is impossible. And as coach Michael Weiss pointed out, “anything is still possible in the second leg.”
A somewhat sad Philippine Ambassador Shulan Primavera was quoted by staff writer Ben Garcia of the Kuwait Times as saying, “It’s okay, they did their best and we are still proud of the Filipino team as we have seen them play till the end. The weather was not really comfortable and it was a negative factor for our players. They haven’t adjusted yet but despite all that, they played well.”
Nursing a 3-0 cushion, Kuwait’s Serbian coach Goran Tufegdzic provided an inkling of hope for the Filipinos.
“This time it’s not over,” he said. “We still have 90 minutes in Manila.”
Who knows, if we keep the faith, the last 90 minutes could well belong to the Azkals. Whatever the outcome, we must all remember that the Azkals have come a long way in a short time and once again established the fact that football is a game made for Filipinos.
Once we get going, there’s no stopping us. We need to keep the faith.