Azkals Advance Despite Loss To Mongolia!

Thank God for James Younghusband.

The less heralded but equally important brother in the Younghusband tandem scored what would prove to be insurmountable points to allow the Philippines to move on to the next stage of the AFC Challenge Cup, despite the 2-1 loss to the Blue Wolves of Mongolia.

Younghusband scored easily in the third minute of the game, leading many pundits to expect the rout that the Azkals have been predicting the last few days.



Of course, the Azkals then fell into a combined stupor brought about by the weather, pitch conditions, overconfidence and a quest for self-glorification.

Missing was the teamwork that was evident in Panaad, as the backline of Sabio, del Rosario and Borromeo struggled to check their men, leading to several dangerous through balls and a Mongolian header that should have been their third goal had it not bounced off the crossbar.

Tha is one major area of concern for me. Last year, the Azkals defense was rock solid most of the time. In this game, our defense made many mistakes that the Mongolians simply couldn't capitalize on.

Another area for concern is the fluidity of the Azkal strikers, as well as their teamwork. The bieggest disappoitment was Chieffy Caligdong, hero and initial goal scorer of the Panaad match. On three separate instances, the Azkals had the advantage in men and position, with Chieffy Caligdong holding the ball.

In all three instances, Caligdong shot a low percentage shot on goal, leading to one save and 2 missed shots. On two of those occasions, he could have passed to Ian Araneta or Phil Younghusband for a better shot. In fact, a visibly frustrated Araneta screamed at Caligdong and threw a tantrum on the pitch after failing to receive a pass despite the fact that he had broken free of his man.

Most people hold the opinion that goalkeeper Eduard Sacapano was the weak link in the Azkals defense. I beg to disagree. Scapano is no Etheridge but he still did a good job on goal. Mongolia's first goal was a result of a breakdown in defense, leading a helpless goalie to defend a wide open goal. It was a miracle that Sacapano was even able to get a hand on it and deflect it a little (but not enough to prevent the goal). Mongolia's second goal was as sure a goal as you could get and still, the crafty Sacapano was able to guess correctly and deflect the ball back to Garidmagnai Bayasgalan, who was again left unmarked by the sleeping Azkals defense.

In the next stage, the Azkals will be facing Myanmar, Palestine and Bangladesh. These teams are no pushovers. The Azkals need to regain the old form and bring their A-game if they want to make it to the Elite Eight of the AFC Challenge Cup.