Azkals go scoreless anew, crash out of Suzuki Cup with loss to Singapore

A Khairul Amri strike at the 18th minute spelled doom for the Philippines, as the Azkals end their 2012 Suzuki Cup run with a defeat in the hands of the Singaporeans, 1-0. The Philippines took to the field against Singapore to a chorus of boos and ultimately couldnt silence the crowd as they were knocked out in the Semi Finals of the Suzuki Cup against an old foe. Singapore opened the scoring in the 19th minute with Khairul Amri grabbing his 14th goal for the Lions, catching Ed Sacapano unaware and curling into the bottom corner. The rest of the match proved to be much of a stalemate, with neither side creating another clear goal-scoring opportunity. The Philippines made two late changes after Chieffy Caligdong came on at halftime, but the impressive Philippine defense seemed to cut into the attacking options for the Azkals as they offered little in offense. First Half Singapore kept with the same lineup who drew 0-0 with the Philippines at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last Saturday, while the Philippines replaced Jason De Jong with Jerry Lucena, who returned to the region from his club. Both teams knew what they had to do, with Singapore needing a win and the Philippines needing a scoring draw or victory to progress to the final. The early minutes of the game were characterized by a barrage of free kicks. Phil Younghusband was brought down four times in the first eleven minutes, repeatedly holding his wrist, while Ed Sacapano was booked in the 5th minute for time wasting. The first shot of note took until the 11th minute, as Shaiful Esah unleased a 30 yard shot at goal, but Sacapano was wary of it and covered his

goal as it drifted wide. Minutes later, Singapore won their first corner as Carli De Murga headed away. The cross was flicked on and Safuwan Baharudin got free from James Younghusband at the back post but couldnt get a full header on the ball. As the play continued, Phil Younghusband was pushed to the ground again for a total of five times in the opening fifteen minutes. Then in the 19th minute, Singapore took a free-kick short, a quick pass finding Khairul Amri in space twenty five yards from goal. He curled towards the bottom corner catching Ed Sacapano unaware, and the Philippine goalkeeper could only watch, wrong-footed, as the ball bounced and nestled into the corner of the goal to open the scoring. The goal also meant there would be no extra-time in the game as thered be no repeat of the goalless draw from the first leg. It was also the fourth time Singapore scored from a free-kick in the Suzuki Cup this year. In the 30th minute, Singapore sent a ball over the top, and with the Azkals defense shielding the ball, Ed Sacapano tried to clear with his left foot, unsure of whether it would be a backpass as it had taken an Azkal touch along the way. It was a weak clearance that fell to Amri in space, with the goalscorer taking a touch and firing the ball at goal, but Sacapano atoned for the error saving to his right. Singapore continued to threaten. Five minutes later, Aleksander Duric was fed on the left. In space, the oldest player on the pitch could only fire at Sacapano in goal. It took until the 42nd minute for the Philippines first meaningful shot on goal, as Angel Guirado dribbled forward and flicked the ball in for Phil Younghusband who shot first time. With his left foot, he drove at goal, but couldnt quite get it out of the reach of Izwan Mahbud in goal for Singapore. The first half wound down with Singapore in control and looking dominant, but Patrick Reichelt caught Shahril Ishak in possession and clipped a ball over the

top for James Younghusband to chase. He shot at goal but Mahbud had rushed out well and jumped high enough to block the effort. Second Half Coach Weiss made a second half change by bringing in Chieffy Caligdong in place of Patrick Reichelt on the left, yet the Azkals failed to show the urgency needed for a side heading out of the competition. With few chances created, none worthy of note, Demit Omphroy replaced James Younghusband in the 61st minute as the Azkals looked to change the game. With Singapore looking to hold the lead and defend the victory, the Azkals began inching forward, but in the 68th minute, the goalscorer Khairul Amri made way for defender Irwan Shah as Singapore looked to shut the game down. Yet they got the next chance in the 71st minute, as Shahdan Sulaiman latched onto a poor touch from Ed Sacapano. The goalkeeper was trying to pat away a cross, but it went straight towards the Singaporean winger. He got his legs tangled before turning to shoot into the defender and the Azkals survived. In the 74th minute, Chieffy Caligdong summed up the Philippine game. Dribbling forward, he was shouting to his teammates to find some space, a position, and ultimately somewhere he could pass. His eventual pass, to only two men forward, was blocked as the Azkals still hung back in defense with only fifteen minutes left to play. Come the 83rd minute, Denis Wolf came on for Carli De Murga to bring three attackers on. With only seven minutes left to play, it proved too little too late as the Philippines finished the 180 minutes against Singapore without creating a single clear, goalscoring opportunity.

Singapore made their final change to wind down the clock and send the threetime Suzuki Cup champions to the finals. The team will play against the winner of the series betweeen defending champions Malaysia and Thailand, the most successful team in the Suzuki Cup. Azkals out of the Suzuki Cup The defeat consigns the Philippines to elimination from the competition. In back to back trips to the semifinals, the Azkals have proven theyre among the top teams in Southeast Asia, but for this year, they have to settle for a second semifinal appearance. The Philippines can look back on their performance in the tournament with some pride, qualifying from the group of death where the current top four FIFA ranked nations contested two qualifying spots. With a victory over the number one ranked Southeast Asian side, followed by the countrys first ever win over Myanmar, the Philippines have fallen only one goal short of a first Suzuki Cup finals appearance. Moreover, they only conceded three goals in four games. Yet, their defensive success has come at the expense of goals. Four goals were scored in six games for the Azkals, all of which were in the second half. The result also meant that for the eighth straight game, the Philippines have failed to score in the first half but never lost the second. They continue to put in a much better second half performance, but in this case, it was just too much for the Philippines. The Philippines may have conceded three goals in the Suzuki Cup, but they scored only four, half as many as the other semifinalists. There will be some disappointment at the result, given the management, the team, and the fans' belief that the Azkals were contenders to win the trophy. The dream was realistic, but a third Philippine victory in 2012, after never beating

Singapore before this year, proved one step too far. The Azkals bow out of the Suzuki Cup but can still hold their head up high having put in some good performances. They have shown that they will remain at the top end of Southeast Asian football for years to come. - RAF, GMA News

Azkals fall to Singapore Lions, 1-0

The Philippine Azkals gave up an early goal and played catch-up the rest of the way but ultimately fell short and bowed to the Singapore Lions, 1-0, in the second leg of their AFF Suzuki Cup semifinal match-up in Jalan Basar Stadium in Singapore. Khairul Amri found the back of the net in the 19th minute after taking a short free kick pass and unleashing a strike that went through the defense and past a flatfooted Eduard Sacapano. That proved to be the marginal goal as the Azkals failed to find the equalizer that would have sent them to the tournament finals for the first time ever. Instead, Singapore marches into the finals for the fourth time, where the Lions await the winner of the other semifinal leg between Thailand and Malaysia. The Lions controlled the tempo for much of the first half before the Azkals started creating chances five minutes before halftime. The Philippines came out more aggressive in the second half with Chieffy Caligdong, Demit Omphroy and Dennis Wolf coming in, but just couldn't get any clear attempt as Singapore's defense held firm. A 1-1 draw would have sent the Azkals into the finals due to the away goal rule. The two sides played to a goalless draw in the first leg in Manila last December 8. The Azkals had desperately wanted to make it to the finals and provide an emotional lift to a country reeling from the destruction of Typhoon Pablo and the

shock loss of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao. But it wasn't meant to be, although duplicating their semifinal run from two years ago was still an achievement.