Azkals admit 3-goal hole deep to climb

MANILA—The 0-3 away defeat to Kuwait in their second round World Cup Qualifying duel hasn’t put a dent on the Philippine  Azkals’ morale.

With Aly Borromeo and Stephan Schrock returning for the second leg on Thursday before another sellout crowd at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, the Azkals are confident that they can  pull off a victory, although they admitted that the three-goal hole could just be too big to overcome to salvage the tie.

Nothing less than a 4-0 win will be enough for the Azkals to pull off a reversal for the ages.

A 3-0 win will only send the match to extra time, while a 4-1 win for the Azkals will also mean that Kuwait will advance to the third round on away goals which serves as the first tiebreaker when the aggregate is tied.

“It seems that the job at home has become tougher but I don’t think it’s impossible,” said Azkals manager Dan Palami. “We might just be able to create opportunities.”

The Azkals arrived in Manila Sunday night in high spirits as they took consolation on the fact that they had kept in step with the heavily favored Kuwaitis in the opening half of their duel at the Mohammed Al-Hammed Stadium in Hawalli Saturday night.

Kuwait also planed in Sunday night with coach Goran Tufegdzic insisting their job isn’t finished yet, despite their comfortable win last Sunday.

“We still have 90 minutes to play and I’m sure the Philippines will do everything to come back,” said Tufegdzic.

Borromeo, the influential defender, who was seen taking notes during the first leg as he served his suspension, also guaranteed a big performance on Thursday from the Azkals.

“I’m sure we can get a goal against them,” said the Azkals skipper, who is expected to return to his old spot that was ably filled by Jason Sabio in the first leg.

First half form is key

Phil Younghusband, who had two chances to score when the game was still hanging in the balance, said reprising that first half form will be key for the Azkals, who trailed only 0-1 despite getting the clearer chances after 45 minutes.

“If we manage to play the way we played in the first half, we could be very dangerous,” said the striker, who had a shot rattle the crossbar in the 30th minute and lost a one-on-one battle with the Kuwaiti goalkeeper in the 16th minute that could have given the Azkals the lead.

“I think we have the capabilities of beating them in Manila. Whether it’s 1-0 or 2-0, it will be a big step for us considering that last year, we would have never imagined facing a team like Kuwait,” said Younghusband.

The game turned when Kuwait coach Tufegdzic sent in Abdulaziz Mashan in the 56th minute as an extra attacking midfielder and his quick passing created more scoring opportunities for the Al-Azraq, who dominated possession and scored two more goals in the second half.

Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge said the Azkals had no answer when Kuwait turned their game up a notch in the last 45 minutes.

“We thought we were good enough after holding them in the first half and that’s when we lost our defensive shape,” said Etheridge. “But I think the home game (in Manila) will be much different.”