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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Thursday, September 7, 2017
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MANILA – Philippine Azkals prevented a huge disaster in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers by forcing Yemen to a 2-2 draw at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City.
Philip and James Younghusband made the equalizing goals for the Filipino team, which kept its unbeaten record in the qualifying tournament – 2-1-0 win-draw-loss record, 7 points – after the Tuesday night match.
“It’s pretty disappointing not to get the 3 points but we fought hard ’til the end,” said Phil. “There are still a lot of positives in this game. We are still on top but we will learn from our mistakes in this game.”
“Like what I said, Yemen is a much better team than the one we faced last time,” said Azkals head coach Thomas Dooley. “I am happy with the 2-2 and we are still on top of the group. The players gave their all.”
Yemen drew first blood in the match at the 26th minute on a jumping header by Mudir Al-Radaei from inside the box. Azkals equalized the game at 1-1 three minutes later with Phil sinking a free kick from top of the key.
In the second half, Yemen surged ahead 2-1 as Abdulwasea Al-Matari eluded the defense of goalkeeper Neil Etheridge for a straight shot. James, however, quickly countered with a header from a pass by Manny Ott.
In the waning minutes of the match, Azkals seemed headed for a go-ahead goal following a conversion by Misagh Bahadoran but was later waived off as a foul was called on a Yemen player.
“We’re satisfied with the result considering the difficult condition here. I have to give it to my players for travelling here and fighting hard until the final whistle,” said Yemen head coach Abraham Mebratu.
Azkals is aiming to make it to at least the top two of the group to advance to the next round./PN
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