Borromeo, Schrock suspensions upheld. We all thought that FIFA would lift the suspensions. After all, FIFA said the AFC should decide. The AFC said they support the Philippine contention of a "fair, even playing field" which includes number of matches played as well as the potential for fouls to occur in those games. But FIFA broke all of our hearts when they went technical and upheld the suspensions. Schrock wasn't going to eb able to play anyway but losing team captain Aly Borromeo was a tremendous blow to the Philippine cause.
Crossbar foils goals. One from Phil Younghusband, the other from Angel Guirado. Both occurring before the Al Azraq scored, which means the Philippines could have potentially gone up 1-0 or 2-0 on Kuwait. That would have rattled the obviously overconfident Kuwaitis and, maybe, opened up more scoring opportunities for the Azkals.
Guirado Gets Hit. If there was any Azkal would needed painkillers, it would be Angel Guirado. The massive hit he endured in the early minutes of the game would have sent ordinary men to the hospital but the game Guirado got up and proved to be a beast inside. Which made him a target again and again. By the latter part of the match, Guirado was barely half of his usual self, hobbling at times, cramping up twice and basically losing all power in his kicks.
Defensive Gaps. The Azkals defense got beat on both the first and third goals. In the first, 2 Azkal defenders (Sabio/Gier) got confused and guarded the same person, leaving a gap through which a cross was lobbed. Guirado tried to compensate and tried to reach the ball but it sailed past his head by barely an inch and was headed in by Yousef Nasser. The third goal was basically a powerful Fahed Al Ibrahim shot through two tired Azkals defenders that curved past Etheridge's hand. Aly Borromeo and Stephan Schrock would definitely have made a difference here.
Miracle Goal. Until today, no one knows how that shot got through. The Azkals say Musaef Neda punched the ball through, as he was kneeling and could not use his legs to kick at the ball. In the end, it was counted and that really brought the Azkals morale down.
See the video here.
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