Unable to finish chances, Azkals fall to China in friendly

Philippines coach Scott Cooper rued the Azkals’ inability to finish off their chances as they fell to China, 2-0, in a friendly late Friday night at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou.

Mike Ott wasted two early opportunities, while Patrick Reichelt saw his header cleared off the line in the second half as the Azkals lost for the sixth straight time since late last year.

Two of the six defeats came against the Chinese, who also dealt the Philippines a 3-0 beating in the Asian Cup last January.

But while Cooper noted improvements in the way the Azkals’ played, he said his team has to rediscover its ability to find the back of the net especially with the World Cup Qualifiers coming in September.

“I thought we showed improvements the last time we faced them (Chinese),” said Cooper. “We had more possession, passing and movement and we looked comfortable [on the ball]. But we have to convert possession into moments and chances.”

The Azkals learned just hours before the match that six of their new recruits weren’t eligible to play as they were still processing their papers, leaving Cooper with just 14 players.

Wu Xi opened the scoring for the Chinese in the 14th minute after the Azkals failed to clear their lines. Zhang Xi Zhe doubled the lead nine minutes after the break, rounding out Michael Falkesgaard after getting in behind the Philippines backline.

“It was a good workout,” said Cooper. “We lost focus at the start of each half, but I thought there were more positives than negatives.”

The Azkals will play Chinese league powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande next.